Education ministers hold first interministerial conference

Education ministers from the three Belgian language communities held their first “interministerial conference” this week, in the presence of King Philippe. The ministers will continue to meet, though without the king’s presence, twice a year.

The first conference led to an agreement on measures to improve the exchange of language teachers. The teachers will be able to give lessons in another region without any loss of salary and will be financially compensated for commuting costs.

Flemish education minister Pascal Smet took the opportunity to present his planned reform of secondary education in Dutch-language schools. French-speaking minister Marie-Martine Schyns was concerned that his proposed reform could be too radical, while German-speaking minister Oliver Paasch (pictured) was very interested in the new, broad first year.

Paasch said that at the next conference he will provide advice on how to fine-tune technical education to better meet the demands of the business world.