Problems of Distance Learning in EU Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article is dedicated to the analysis of distance learning problems faced by EU Member states during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each EU member state was forced to transform its education policy, trying not only to reduce the risks of infection during professional contacts between teachers and students, but also to ensure the maintenance of the necessary quality of the educational process. The ambiguous influence of distance learning on the level of academic achievement of students in various EU countries is shown. The factors that hindered distance learning, including low incomes, housing and other material deprivation, belonging of students and their families to socially vulnerable segments of the population, the level of education of parents of schoolchildren and students are identified. The negative consequences of restrictive measures implemented by the EU countries in the education sector are revealed. Attention is focused on the risk of reducing the level of competitiveness of future graduates of educational institutions in the labor market due to their lack of knowledge. The reaction of the national authorities of the EU countries to the situation in the education sector, expressed in the adoption of a set of urgent measures, is investigated, including additional classes with lagging students, the preparation and active use of teaching materials, the provision of free SIM cards for an unlimited period of time to students from low-income families, providing computers and Internet access to children in need. It is stated that the education sector in the EU countries has demonstrated the necessary adaptability to the situation, having found support from the authorities.