The Wallonia-Brussels Federation has approved an evaluation of Francophone teachers from 2024 onwards although has decided that any resulting sanctions for poor results will be postponed until August 2026.
In the wake of thousands of teachers taking to the streets on Thursday to protest the government’s plan to reform the Francophone education system, the government decided on Friday that it will nonetheless go ahead with changes.
The move was spearheaded by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, whose Minister-President Pierre-Yves Jeholet (MR) said on radio on Friday morning that “any evaluation without sanctions is useless” and that these changes were part of his government’s larger-scale reform of Francophone education.
“This is not a menu where we take what we like and throw away what we don't like,” he stated.
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Jeholet’s spokesperson told Le Soir that the Wallonia-Brussels Federation had already softened its position by “revising the timing of certain reforms so as not to overburden principals and teachers.” Jeholet himself went on to specify that “the aim is not to sanction at all costs” but rather target those “who show ill will by refusing to be trained.”
However, these arguments have done little to convince the teaching unions that went on strike yesterday. Joseph Thonon of the CGSP-Enseignement union told La Libre that as far as his union is concerned “nothing has changed”, leaving the door open to further teacher strikes in the coming months.
