Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: school

  • Back-to-school spending to rise by 16% this year compared to 2020

    Back-to-school spending to rise by 16% this year compared to 2020

    Back-to-school spending is projected to rise by 16% this year compared to 2020, reaching USD 32.5 billion.

    Digital learning tools are replacing traditional school supplies, driving the sales for technology-based products for students up 37% YoY, according to Deloitte 2021 back-to-school survey.

    For buying school-related technology products, 49% of participants consider online stores as first option, and 41% are planning to visit discount retailers.

    School spending is projected to reach an average of USD 612 per child (up from USD 529 per child in 2020).

    Overall, 40% of households expect to spend more on back-to-school items than the previous year.

    Around 31% of those who purchase tech items plan to buy computers and hardware (up from 22% in 2020), while 37% intend to purchase electronic gadgets (24% in 2020).

    At the same time, 44% plan to purchase fewer traditional back-to-school supplies because their children are using more digital technologies in and out of the classroom.

    Even if schools open physically, 58% of respondents are considering buying online learning resources (up from 51% in 2020).

    By category of technology products, most of the spending will go to electronics (USD 5.9 billion, 47% more than in 2020) and computers and hardware (USD 5.9 billion).

    Mass merchants are still the preferred source for purchasing school products, but are losing ground to online stores – 43% prefer to buy from stores, and 39% online.

    The difference increases if we refer to 2019, when 56% of shoppers preferred the physical store and only 29%, online shopping.

  • Serbia to digitalize schools with €65 million from EIB

    Serbia to digitalize schools with €65 million from EIB

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest €65 million in the modernisation of primary and secondary schools in Serbia to provide new digital equipment, connectivity, and capacity building training for 50,000 school teachers.

    Schools across Serbia will benefit from modern computer classroom equipment and wireless local area networks, and teachers will be trained to improve their digital skills.

    The project is expected to create up to 700 new jobs.

    The EIB will provide a significant level of technical support in aid of project preparation and implementation.

    To date, the EIB has invested €50 million in the modernisation of Serbian schools, improving the quality of learning conditions for around 28,000 primary and secondary school children in over 200 education facilities in Serbia.

    €200 million has been invested in reviving Serbia’s research and development sector, creating a long-term platform for scientific development in all major areas.

  • 98% of Romanian pupils learned more than two languages in school

    98% of Romanian pupils learned more than two languages in school

    In the EU, 48% of the pupils in upper secondary education studied more than two languages in 2018. This share was higher than 80% in Romania (98%), Finland (94%), the Flemish community of Belgium (84%) and Luxembourg (82%).

    On the other end of the ranking, in Greece, only 1% of the students in upper secondary education studied more than 2 languages in 2018, Eurostat shows.

    English is the most commonly studied foreign language in the EU

    Almost 87% of pupils learned English in upper secondary education in 2018. English was followed by French (19%), German and Spanish (both around 18%). 

    In 2018, in all EU Member States more than 65% of students enrolled in upper secondary education were learning English as a foreign language, with the exception of Denmark (57%).

    Russian was the most commonly non-EU language learned in 2018 (2%) especially in Latvia (48%), Estonia (44%), Bulgaria and Lithuania (both around 26%).