GREEN Party Euro-MP Jean Lambert told 600 pupils at a Hillingdon school that the EU could contribute to making free primary education available worldwide by diverting its annual 1bn Euro subsidy for tobacco growers into development aid.
Former teacher Mrs Lambert, now London MEP for the London region, told pupils at St Helen's School, Northwood, that education was empowerment - and making the right to education a reality for all would represent a major step towards sustainable development.
Speaking at the invitation of the Global Campaign for Education today (Friday, April 23rd), Mrs Lambert said: "Education is empowerment. It gives us the tools we need to ask questions and take nothing for granted.
"Education enables us to form our own opinions and find things out for ourselves - and not take the media or politicians' word for it.
"We must remember, when we make our political choices, we're not just making them for ourselves who are, perhaps through a lack of access to education, disenfranchised."
Mrs Lambert, who made her comments during an assembly of all 600 St Helen's pupils before addressing smaller groups of politics and business studies students, added: "Promises to make the right to free primary education a reality for all have not been met. If the EU decided to make this a priority it could make an enormous difference.
"Shifting the 1bn Euro annual subsidy for tobacco growers would make a huge difference, for example - and might save a few lives lost to smoking-related diseases along the way."
ENDS
For more information please contact Ben or Katy on 020 7407 6280, 07973 823358 or at press@greenmeps.org.uk