Dutch-speaking schools across Belgium have been struggling with chronic staff shortages but in the Brussels-Capital Region, there seems to be a (temporary) light at the end of the tunnel.
Teacher shortages in Brussels' schools were already raising concerns more than two years ago when after ten years of outreach to get new teachers to the Dutch-speaking schools in the region, schools were still unable to have a full staff. Nor was the shortage exclusive to Brussels – schools in all regions are affected.
The lack of staff has already resulted in secondary schools being forced to scrap or modify exams, while it has been highlighted as the biggest threat to the quality of education, with studies confirming that schools most impacted by teacher shortage have also taken the biggest hit to academic performance.
A wide range of measures have been introduced to make the profession more attractive and fill in the gaps, from a four-day working week and grants to reimburse the tuition fees of lateral entrants in Brussels to Flemish schools calling on companies to "lend out" their employees.
Turning the tide?
For Dutch-speaking education in the Brussels-Capital Region, these measures finally seem to be bearing fruit with a marked drop in the number of vacancies compared to the end of 2023, Minister Sven Gatz, who is responsible for education in the Flemish Community Commission (VGC), confirmed on Friday.
"The shortage is still high but we are cautiously hopeful that this is a turnaround in the teacher shortage in Brussels," he said. Figures from the VGC showed that in January there was a rise in the number of unreplaced long-term absent teachers (from 160 to 180), but Gatz noted that this is an expected cyclical increase.
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Meanwhile, the number of vacancies fell by 8% from 227 to 209. This is the first time figures have dropped at this time of year. January is a month when schools usually face extra drop-outs due to illness. At the start of the school year, in September 2023, some 370 vacancies were still open. "So according to the latest figures, the structural teacher shortage is stagnating," Gatz explained.
Gatz stressed that there is progress still to be made and called for a Brussels bonus for Brussels teachers – like that given to police officers – to encourage teachers to come and teach in the capital.
In Flanders however vacancies are still increasing. Figures from the Flemish Employment Service (VDAB) showed that a record number of 3,843 vacancies were still open in Flemish education in January.
