Students and teachers may be looking forward to the start of the new school year next week with a mix of excitement and uncertainty, but for institutional stakeholders, the mood is less celebratory, as anxiety looms after a turbulent first year of governance by the MR-Engagés coalition.
Key controversies have marked this administration’s education policies. From ending permanent appointments for teachers to proposed budget cuts in vocational education, challenges have been mounting.
Earlier this year, Education Minister Valérie Glatigny raised eyebrows with her suggestion to postpone the extension of the new polytechnic core curriculum to the third year of secondary school, initially planned for 2028.
Stakeholders waiting for concrete proposals
In May, Minister Glatigny convened education stakeholders for discussions in Brussels, but since then, there’s been little progress. “We’re waiting for updates—and more importantly, for concrete proposals,” lamented one education official.
School heads, teachers, and administrators are already preparing for the potential extension of the general curriculum. Many are reworking course schedules, reallocating teaching staff, redesigning classrooms, and planning new investments—yet they are left in limbo about how to move forward.
Minister Glatigny’s office was unavailable to provide updates when contacted by the Belga News Agency. Behind the scenes, however, discussions within the ruling coalition are said to be ongoing.
Liberals vs Centrists
“The majority is meeting to finalise proposals, which will be unveiled this September,” education policy specialist Mathilde Vandorpe, head of Les Engagés parliamentary group, confirmed.
Tensions within the coalition—between the liberal MR and the centrist Les Engagés—have been evident in recent months, hindering decisions related to the future structure of the fourth-year curriculum.
The coalition agreement makes reference to plans to transform the fourth year into a more “guidance-focused” year, with a streamlined common core and fewer shared activities. However, critics worry this could introduce subject specialisation too early, effectively curtailing the unified core curriculum by the end of the second year.
Vandorpe sought to allay such concerns. “The intention is to extend the common core through the fourth year as envisaged in the Pact for Excellence," she said. "However, the aim is to introduce activities that guide students towards future paths without locking them into specific tracks. For instance, a student may explore mechanics in the third year but still have the flexibility to study Latin in the fourth.”
Coalition under pressure to address teacher shortage
Other elements of the Pact for Excellence reform also remain unresolved, such as the future of a special programme for students who fail their primary school certification exams.
Although the programme was to be phased out after a transitional period, the coalition has yet to agree on whether it should be retained. Meanwhile, planning for fourth, fifth, and sixth-year curricular reforms is still incomplete.
Beyond curriculum reforms, the coalition is under pressure to address Belgium’s teacher shortage, which was declared the government’s top political priority at the start of its mandate.
In January, four working groups—including government representatives, unions, and educational organisations—were established to discuss solutions, ranging from improving teacher mobility across networks to replacing permanent appointments with contracts, and designing a new pay scale for teachers following extended four-year training programmes.
Future strikes deemed inevitable
The unions, however, report little to no progress. “It’s been a farce,” said Luc Toussaint, president of the CGSP-Education union. “The government has hidden behind the coalition agreement and budget constraints. It’s been a dialogue of the deaf!”
Last year, teacher unions staged several successful strikes against proposed government reforms. According to Toussaint, further action is inevitable: “No strikes are planned yet, but there’s no doubt they’ll occur this year,” he said.
Teachers’ unions are expected to join broader national protests on 24 September and 11 October. Additionally, they plan to distribute a newsletter to raise public awareness about perceived threats to education, along with 17,000 stickers bearing the slogan 'Protect Education' for schools in Wallonia and Brussels.
For Roland Lahaye, General Secretary of CSC-Education, the government’s proposals will exacerbate teacher shortages and harm the education system. “Glatigny is disastrous for education,” he charged. “And Les Engagés are enabling her. What exactly are they here for?”
