2023-08-26 05:14:00
Overall, in a calm state of mind. We have been preparing for the start of the new school year for several weeks and things are going well overall, even if the situation is tense in places because of the shortage of teachers. That doesn’t mean it’s catastrophic, but it’s a sign that we’re going to experience difficulties in replacing absentees during the year.
Has the shortage worsened since last year?
“Shortage is a big word that designates several things. We don’t have a massive shortage in all functions or in all regions. The shortage differs according to geographical areas and functions. At the level of Kindergarten teachers, there is no problem and in primary, it is the opposite.In secondary, it is especially in Dutch, English, mathematics and science that we note a shortage. “
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After the reform of the annual rhythms, the Pact of Excellence provides for a reform of the daily rhythms. Are you in favor of it?
“The reform of school timetables on a daily basis is an even bigger mountain than the reform of annual timetables. We are at the reflection stage. This legislature has not touched on it, we will see if the next government seizes the theme or not, with a difficulty to have in mind.”
Which?
“We don’t always realize it, but French-speaking Belgium is one of the countries where students spend the most hours in class each week. In Germany and the USA, we have a period of theoretical lessons that goes up to 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. and the rest of the followingnoon is used for sports or creative activities. The model is interesting, but it would imply a reduction in the number of hours of lessons. It promises exciting debates.”
Julien Nicaise General Administrator WBE – Wallonia-Brussels Education ©Bernard Demoulin
Is halving the repetition rate, as provided for in the Pact of Excellence, a good idea?
“Yes because we practice it too much. It’s sometimes 2,3,5 times more than in other countries and in particular countries that have robust education systems so that should make us reflect on our practices. We don’t is not saying that repetition should be purely and simply prohibited. On the other hand, we must be able to move towards a reduction and only use it in specific cases where we are certain that it is a good thing for the pupil.
In Belgium we tend to consider that a teacher who does not miss any student is too lax
“Yes, but we also hear the opposite: a teacher who kills half of his students each year should also ask questions. I can feel it from our directors, there is a real positive reflection in the class councils. We have to take the time, student by student, to see the trajectory of life, the aspirations and judge on a case-by-case basis whether repetition is a good or a bad thing.”
Why is this rate so high here?
“It’s historic. We have used repetition on a massive scale for fifty years where many countries have evolved. I am thinking of the Scandinavian countries but there are others. I am thinking of the United Kingdom where we do not practically double. However, we cannot consider that it is a lax educational system. In the past century, little thought has been given to this. There were attempts in the 1990s, but today the subject there is almost a consensus: when we discuss both in the field and with those involved in education, everyone agrees that excessive repeating is not going well and the statistics show it: the more the pupils repeat at a young age, the more they are likely to pass a second time and run the risk of leaving the education system without training and finding themselves at best unemployed at worst at the CPAS. It’s a kind of vicious circle that goes beyond school.”
With the extension of the common core to 15 years, actors such as UFAPEC believe that having an enrollment decree at the end of the sixth primary no longer makes sense. Do you agree with them?
“The registration decree is a necessary evil. We put it in place regarding fifteen years ago and it is still there fifteen years later. It has been reformed several times but we have still not found a miracle solution that would allow at some point to automatically arbitrate the differences that may exist in relation to schools that are over-demanded.Even if tomorrow, we have more common core schools, the question will always arise.The majority of our schools will remain in a classic setting for the next 10 years.”
Is a registration decree as it currently exists compatible with the objectives of the pact?
“The ideal would be for there to be no separation between primary and secondary, but to my knowledge, there is no education system that can claim to work like that. If we turn to the he countries around us, roughly speaking, primary school stops between the ages of 11 and 13 for everyone, including in countries that have had a common core culture for a very long time. Europe also does not have many structures where the child enters kindergarten and stays there until the age of 15. It is a great challenge but it is not easy in terms of school buildings.
The purpose of the registration decree is to increase social diversity in schools. We know that this is one of the big problems of our education system: the students who are good are very good and the bad are very bad. These disparities plague our education system. Some actors, such as, therefore propose to regulate enrollment earlier in the school career or even to impose a school on families. Do you agree with this idea?
“I think it’s an intellectually interesting idea but one that risks provoking massive rejection from parents and the population. We must remember the debates in 2007 on the registration decree. I think that our society is not ready to accept such an imposition and I also hasten to say that certain models in neighboring countries have not worked. If we look at the French model, where there is an imperative school map which imposes a school on families, I am not not sure that their mix is better than ours.”
How to act on this mix then?
“It’s a difficulty that goes beyond school because we have difficulties in the school mix and in the mix of neighborhoods. What I see with hindsight is that it is often difficult to maintain a school in the long term with a mixed public. We really have this desire but we realize that when a school tends to go up in the socio-economic index and to attract a more affluent population, there is a form of replacement which takes place fairly quickly over 5 or 10 years. The reverse is also true. It’s really a very complex question. Ideally, all the children of all social strata and all levels should work together, but we can’t do it.”
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