Teachers in primary and secondary schools in Flanders collectively spend more than 115,000 hours on tasks unrelated to teaching, a factor contributing to the ongoing teacher shortage, according to Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA).
A recent study commissioned by the minister examined the shortage in Dutch-language education using administrative data up to October 2024. The findings revealed a shortage of over 3,700 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers—2,050 in secondary schools and 1,694 in primary schools. This equates to approximately 3.7% of the total number of FTE teaching positions.
Despite these figures, international comparisons indicate that Flanders actually employs enough teachers overall. However, many of them are increasingly occupied with tasks beyond teaching. In primary education, 22,734 working hours—or the equivalent of 933 full-time teachers—are lost to these activities, while in secondary education, the figure rises to 91,968 hours, equating to 4,322 full-time roles.
These non-teaching hours, known as “support hours,” often have value, such as mentoring new colleagues, providing peer support, or undertaking professional development. However, Minister Demir believes many of these responsibilities could be delegated to other school staff.
Demir is calling for a discussion on the core role of teachers. “While much of the support work is useful and helps make teachers’ lives easier, teachers are too often absent from the classroom,” she said. “For me, the priority is clear: every teacher must focus first and foremost on teaching. Other tasks should be secondary.”
