“New Decree on School Class Size: Ending Automatic Derogation Regime”

2023-05-25 14:16:52

The text intends to put an end to the almost automatic derogation regime which has so far allowed school management to easily exceed the standards of supervision, sometimes leading to classes deemed overcrowded by teachers.

In the future, school principals will have to justify their request for exemption and prove that there is no alternative.

The unions will have the possibility of expressing their opinion on these requests for exemptions via the local consultation bodies. In the event of disagreement, they may lodge an appeal with the education administration.

The latter will also be authorized to conduct random soundings in schools to ensure compliance with supervision standards.

The ceilings currently in place in primary (24 pupils in the first two years and 28 from primary 3 to 6) and secondary (24 pupils during the first two years, and then from 22 to 32 pupils depending on the year and sectors) are maintained in the draft decree.

However, this provides for better support for management. To this end, the administration and the organizing authorities will develop tools to help them make better use of the total number of teacher periods (NTPP, in the jargon) granted to them.

“The goal is to prevent situations where schools are forced to inflate class groups because they do not identify solutions on their own to distribute students differently or to split class groups”, we specify with the firm. of the Minister of Education, Caroline Désir (PS).

In kindergarten, there has so far been no standard regarding the maximum number of pupils per class. The new decree now sets the bar at at least one full-time equivalent (FTE) for 22 students present.

These new rules should, according to the wishes of Minister Caroline Désir, come into force gradually from the start of the 2023 school year already, but the precise modalities must still be agreed with the unions and the federations of the organizing authorities of education.

This draft decree is a gesture of appeasement towards the teachers’ unions who have been demanding for months better respect for class size.

The problem was one of the four major demands addressed to the government by the sector. He had taken to the streets five times in the past fifteen months.

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