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Original poster

To be so sad and angry about the loss of the Erasmus scheme

225 replies

Biber · 09/01/2020 08:21

Yesterday the government voted against an amendment to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that would have aimed to keep the Erasmus scheme open for our youngsters.

I knew brexit woud bring losses to our children but it feels like a punch in the gut that parliament have voted so clearly against my grandchildren having the opportunity for funded study in another EU country. Just as it is being extended to people in apprentiships too.

To be so sad and angry about the loss of the Erasmus scheme
OP posts:
Lilsginpalace · 09/01/2020 08:23

So short-sighted and insular.

PineappleDanish · 09/01/2020 08:24

This is a scheme which has been hugely beneficial for young people from all over Europe for decades. It's such a shame that it is ending and will just mean UK students have much narrower horizons.

LIZS · 09/01/2020 08:25

Interesting. Was at a uni applicant day with dd yesterday and their take was that their partner unis were equally keen to keep the exchange system going and it had existed pre-Erasmus. They were still guaranteeing it. Availability of a year abroad is important to dd.

PrimeraVez · 09/01/2020 08:30

Such a shame. My Erasmus year was one of the best of my life. Made some incredible friends, got great work experience, gained a thirst for travel and the confidence to do it and my language skills advanced more in that one year than they did in ten years in the classroom.

margaritasbythesea · 09/01/2020 08:32

I am very sorry about this. Our world here in the UK has become smaller.

DorisDances · 09/01/2020 08:36

This is one of the reasons why i voted remain - there are so many schemes and collaborations that not all voters would have been aware of. Grieves me that future generations will miss out.

LellyMcKelly · 09/01/2020 08:37

I’m a lecturer and am gutted by this. I teach a handful of Erasmus students every year and they bring so many benefits to universities and students - internationationalisation, cross cultural partnership working, new ideas and approaches to problems from their own university experiences. I’m baffled as to why the government should fail to secure it. There are no downsides to it at all.

Number64 · 09/01/2020 08:38

No, this is very sad.

LellyMcKelly · 09/01/2020 08:42

LIZS - students will still be able to go abroad, but it will be more difficult to secure a place and there will be more red tape. It will still be doable, just trickier, and there will probably be fewer unis abroad willing to accept them, since they’ll get most of their intake from the Erasmus programme.

titchy · 09/01/2020 08:44

Lizs - your dd will have to fund it herself now though.

minesagin37 · 09/01/2020 08:44

Little England strikes again! As we shrink and retract up our own backsides!

CuriousaboutSamphire · 09/01/2020 08:44

The Erasmus has gone but there will be a return to the previous exchange schemes. The importance of them has not changed so it is inevitable that they will be reorganised..

The thing with being older is you rmember pre-EU life. And amazingly most things that are being 'lost' existed back then... so they probably will again, just with different names!

SunnySomer · 09/01/2020 08:48

It’s such a bizarre amendment to vote AGAINST- I can’t see how Erasmus offers anything other than benefits.

Songsofexperience · 09/01/2020 08:48

This goes hand in hand with the atrocious attitude towards foreign language teaching in this country. It's NOT a super human skill, it's NOT hard if taught properly and it is an essential skill. We need bilinguals/multilinguals if we want to be 'global'. I thought brexit was about 'ambition' and 'unleashing potential'... how are we really going to do that if we don't even pull our finger out to speak with our potential partners in their own languages. We have to be proactive now more than ever but no... It's insular and arrogant.

CherryPavlova · 09/01/2020 08:49

Dreadful.

mammmamia · 09/01/2020 08:50

Agree with all of the above - my Erasmus year ( 20 years ago!) was the making of me and continues to influence my life and my world outlook!

Saddler · 09/01/2020 08:50

A result of morons trying to block brexit at every turn. By default the government will vote against any amendments now

Knittedfairies · 09/01/2020 08:54

It's a very short-sighted consequence of leaving the EU sadly, but not a surprise.

BiarritzCrackers · 09/01/2020 08:54

I'm a remainer and Labour voter BUT...

The wording of this matters. The Tories have voted against being compelled to seek to maintain ERASMUS. This can't be interpreted as the Tories seeking to leave ERASMUS.

It's another of those votes demonstrating the government don't want to be compelled to do anything by the HoC, just as I don't believe Theresa May would have ever left with No Deal, but did not want to be compelled by law to not be able to do so.

I don't think all is lost with this. Yet. The government may will keep it, and that will result as a score for them, given how much people are reacting to it.

Number64 · 09/01/2020 08:58

BiarritzCrackers

Thanks for the insight

CuriousaboutSamphire · 09/01/2020 09:00

The wording of this matters. The Tories have voted against being compelled to seek to maintain ERASMUS. This can't be interpreted as the Tories seeking to leave ERASMUS. Makes sense to me. They won't eradicate the idea of exchange students, they have existed for as long as Universities have and are not only lucrative but essential academically.

It is becoming very obvious how they will achieve a clean slate, deal or not!

KatyCarrCan · 09/01/2020 09:03

Biarritz yy that was my understanding too. This wasn't about losing the Erasmus scheme. It was about timing and being compelled to include it at this stage in negotiations.

Songsofexperience · 09/01/2020 09:08

Timing wise- how much time to they actually have in order to confirm participation in 2021?

Songsofexperience · 09/01/2020 09:09

Same question applies re Horizon.

SerendipityJane · 09/01/2020 09:12

The thing with being older is you remember pre-EU life.

True, I certainly can. It was shite.