It is not only in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation that universities are denied their authorization requests to create new academic programs. Three Flemish universities – KU Leuven, UGent and VUB – saw their wish to offer students a master’s degree in civil engineering in English rejected by the Flemish Minister of Education, Ben Weyts (N-VA). However, they had the support of student representative organizations and employers’ federations. Even the dome of the Flemish bosses, the Voka, sometimes presented as the “boss of the N-VA”, had supported the request. This was obviously not enough to shake Ben Weyts’ intransigence.
It is not forbidden in Flanders to organize a university course in a language other than Dutch. But the university offering it must provide the same training in Dutch. And this is the whole problem posed by the joint request from KU Leuven, UGent and VUB: the three universities want to be exempted from still offering the master’s degree in civil engineering in Dutch. So much so that it would no longer have been possible to follow a master’s degree in civil engineering in Dutch in Flanders. Unthinkable for the nationalist minister.
English, the lifeline
The universities had arguments to make. There is the pragmatic argument. The vast majority of students now opt for training in English and, therefore, having to dub all the courses in Dutch is becoming an increasingly expensive luxury. There is the argument of reason. English is the language of use in large civil engineering companies and in the world of technology – as long as the students are completely immersed in it. Finally, there is an existential question. Universities must, for their survival, recruit students from abroad. And in this increasingly fierce competition, Dutch – a group language on a world scale – is a handicap. English is a lifeline. of their salvation.
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However, Minister Weyts does not lack arguments to oppose them. As a political leader, he considers that he must guarantee the widest possible access to studies. And, in his view, forcing young Flemish people to follow a course in a language that is not theirs is, on the contrary, to reduce it. Minister N-VA is also concerned regarding a possible gap that might be created between engineers trained in English and the workers with whom they will have to work and who will have followed a course where Dutch has remained compulsory. .
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And then, above all, as a good nationalist, he says he wants to ensure the cohesion of Flemish society. “In a society that is becoming more and more multicultural and complex, we need to put more emphasis on the unifying working language of Flanders, the ‘cornflour’ of our society: Dutch.”, he wrote.
By his refusal, Ben Weyts might pose as heir to the pioneers of the Flemish movement who fought for Dutch to supplant French in Flemish universities. He mightn’t have hesitated long.