2023-08-28 15:59:03
The 2023-2024 school year starts under high tension. The unions have issued a strike notice for the rest of the year. They do not digest the “Evaluation of teachers” decree.
That’s a big red stain on the back-to-school blackboard. A strike notice covering all actions by the end of the legislature has been filed by four of the five teachers’ unions. In common front, the CGSP, the Setca-Sel, the SLFP and the Appeal deposited in the locker of their supervising minister Caroline Désir this small note which does not have anything of a small friendly note of welcome back from holidays.
“Despite our many warnings, the government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) has decided to turn a deaf ear. On July 19, during the well-deserved holidays for teachers, and almost sheltered from reactions on the ground, the decree that we will call “Teacher evaluation” was voted in plenary session in the Parliament of the FWB, definitively ratifying this deplorable decree and confirming the disastrous change of course of the Pact for teaching excellence.” It is in these words that the common front justifies its gesture.
The CSC-Teaching is not associated with the text, and for good reason. She did not formally contest the text of the decree (despite some reservations), agreeing to remain at the table of the Consultation Committee of the Pact of Excellence while the other unions had slammed the door at the end of last April, ulcerated by the will of the FWB government to impose sanctions on teachers who do not benefit from a positive evaluation.
It was to be expected, say the unions in chorus. “We had promised that if the parliament voted in the state the text of the decree on the evaluation of the teachers, we would deposit this notice at the start of the school year.“, recalls Joseph Thonon, the president of the CGSP-Teaching. “The text was voted on July 19, in the middle of the holiday period. So we keep our promises.”
Cold shower for back to school
From memory, this is the first time that a new school year has started on such a negative note. While the start of the new school year generally has the scent of a new start, with its brand new schoolbags, its happy children’s smiles, its teachers rested and pumped up, the union approach acts as a cold shower. Caroline Désir and Pierre-Yves Jeholet, the Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, reacted from the first hour.
“We worked for 30 months on this file. We responded as best as possible to their requests in order to be able to protect the rights of the staff as best as possible.”
“A strike notice filed on the day of the start of the school year is not ideal”, commented the Minister of Education on the airwaves of Bel-RTL. “It is absolutely necessary to be able to go to school, so I would especially like to find serenity.”
She said she wantedreach out to unions to “work on their demands”, while recalling that it has already “enormously” consulted with them during the legislature. “We worked for 30 months on this file. We responded as best as possible to their requests in order to be able to protect the rights of the staff as best as possible”, she invoked.
Back to school in numbers
- 900,000 students. The 2023-2024 school year starts with 900,000 students enrolled, from kindergarten to secondary 6 (and even 7th year for vocational education).
- 75 euros. Free education is on the right track. This year, schools have a flat rate of 75 euros per student to cover school supplies. A beginning.
- 3rd primary. From this school year, learning a second language becomes compulsory from the 3rd primary (instead of the 5th). Pupils still have the choice between Dutch or English. In two years, Dutch will be compulsory.
- 90%. Student absenteeism has exploded in recent years: +90% between 2019 and 2022. Between the end of August and December 2022, more than 23,000 students presented at least nine half-days of school absence.
- 182 days. This school year will include 182 school days, and 3 public holidays falling on weekdays. A school year varies between 180 and 184 days.
At the same time, on La Première (RTBF), the Minister-President of the FWB Pierre-Yves Jeholet (MR) also regretted the union’s approach: “the school world, following the Covid-19 crisis, following the floods, needs serenity and stability. I thought everyone was on the same page to have a peaceful year. I remember that the Pacte d’excellence is not an à la carte menu“, he said. “It is a reform that was wanted by political actors, but also the world of school, including the unions. Teacher evaluation was part of the pact. (…) In all trades, we are evaluated. I don’t see why the teachers wouldn’t be, because it also contributes to the quality of the school and the learning,” he said.
Back to the tensions
This decree on the evaluation of teachers has been the subject of strong tensions between the minister and the unions from its first drafts. What was he accused of then? It is above all the second part of the text that is disputed. As a reminder, the decree “Evaluation of teachers” has two parts. The first relates to support for teachers in the form of annual interviews. For young teachers, or at the request of the management or a teacher, this interview may give rise to a “professional skills development plan” (PDCP). So far so good.
“In all professions, we are evaluated. I do not see why teachers would not be, because it also contributes to the quality of the school and learning.”
But if, within two years, this skills development plan has not borne fruit, the organizing power of the school can initiate a sanction component which might go as far as dismissal. And that’s where the unions went into overdrive. They fear that teachers will be evaluated by POs who have no skills in terms of pedagogy. On the other, that this hindrance in innovative educational initiatives and that they are forced to conform to the mold of leadership.
To reassure them somewhat, Caroline Désir then agreed to review – very slightly – her copy, postponing the application of the sanctions section for two years. The idea being, in this interval, to train the management and the organizing powers in this evaluation system. “It’s always taken, but it does not change much“, comments Joseph Thonon. The unions take note. “We can no longer go back, especially since we are starting a pre-election year.
So what will the threat of notice do? “There are still other difficult files to come this year, they can still be improved. It is therefore a question of putting the pressure” (read box). Understand that the trade unions will hold Caroline Désir in the panties throughout the end of her mandate. And will bring out the heavy artillery at the slightest misstep.
Five construction sites to keep an eye on
By filing their strike notice, the unions did not no actions yet to bring. They will depend on current events and the progress of other projects still in progress. The unions hope, on these points, to be listened to more. What are these projects who will they put pressure on?
- Class size: a preliminary draft decree has been drafted in order to reduce overcrowding in the classroom by ending the automatic waiver system which allowed schools to exceed the standards in force in certain cases, without there being any control. Stricter standards are also provided for in kindergarten.
- Promoting qualifying and work-study education. This project is also still in progress. In short, this involves implementing the polytechnic common core in secondary, delaying entry into qualifying by one year (from secondary 4), rationalizing the offer of options while guaranteeing the employment of teachers.
- Review the supervision standards of PMS centers: the Covid crisis and the evolution of society lead to an overload of work for the psychomedico-social centers. They are therefore calling for an increase in staff.
- End the staff overload teacher and review the management of schools.
- Align the academic rhythm of higher education with the new rhythm of compulsory education. The project to revise the school calendar for higher education, in particular by planning to bring in students at the end of August, is already on the table, but the timing of the implementation is not yet known.
The summary
- The back to school gong has soundedbut also that of the trade unions.
- In common front, they deposit a strike notice which will cover all actions during the school year.
- Trade unions, dissatisfied with the decree on teacher evaluationwill maintain constant pressure on the other files to be finalized.
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