The chronic teacher shortages that are causing headaches for the education sector in Flanders are also affecting Dutch-speaking schools in Brussels, where more measures are being taken to combat this issue.
As part of the region's plan to attract more teachers to its schools, Brussels minister Sven Gatz, who is responsible for education within the Flemish Community Commission (FCC) announced lateral entrants into the profession will have their tuition fees paid by the government, similarly to what is being done in Flanders to attract people to the healthcare profession.
"Anyone who works in the private sector or the government and takes the step into education will be reimbursed for that training," a press statement from Gatz read.
He has also advocated for the extension of an existing bonus system to compensate for the shortage of teachers, which has been worrying the sector for a while now.
In Flanders, a similar bonus allows lateral entrants to be exempted, with retention of salary, from up to three hours a week to follow a teacher training course from September onwards.
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"In Brussels, we want to go beyond three hours of exemption," said Gatz. "We want to be able to exempt lateral entrants and teachers who have yet to obtain a diploma up to 20% of a full-time assignment and we will pay their tuition fees."
Gatz is also looking to introduce a "Brussels-based premium" for teachers working in Dutch-speaking education in the region, of which the amount would depend on the seniority and employment level of the teacher. A similar system is in place for police officers.
This premium starts at €670 gross per year and during the first five years of service, increases to €1,340 per year.
