Brussels has released a budget of €11,000 to provide better interpreter services for parents of children in the city's Dutch-speaking schools who don't speak the language, Brussels Minister for Multilingualism Sven Gatz announced on Wednesday.
Dutch-speaking schools in the city will be able to use the services of trained interpreters from the Social Interpreting Service of Brussels for a reduced rate of €5 an hour.
"The cost of using interpreters has been flagged as a major barrier. A preferential rate would enable the targeted use of interpreters, improving communication between school and parents," said Gatz.
By strengthening the communication between staff and non-Dutch speaking parents, pupil guidance will be further improved and can be tailored to the pupil’s needs.
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The question of having more conversations with parents interpreted came up during a participatory process last year, whereby school teams could discuss their educational practice with the minister.
Trained interpreters will be deployed on-site, by telephone, and online.
Lauren Walker
The Brussels Times
