What should be zones of calm for the instruction of the next generation have again had their tranquillity broken as 30 primary schools in Belgium's French-speaking education system were forced to remain closed on Monday after receiving a malicious email containing a bomb threat.
The incident highlights how ill-meaning troublemakers can wreck havoc with minimal effort: more than 10,000 pupils were obliged to remain at home and the resulting childcare costs an untold multiple of this. Meanwhile, the cost to forces of law and order were also great, as each establishment had to be searched thoroughly before the threat could be considered a hoax.
More worryingly, the education authorities report that the number of threats made against schools has been rising in recent months, a major impact on the level of schooling as precautionary measures come with widespread disruption. Some have questioned whether the penalties are sufficiently severe: prison sentences range from three months to two years and fines between €400 and €2,400.
But the search for perpetrators is long-winded and often unsuccessful. Already at the start of this academic year, francophone schools were hit by protests against a new sexual and relationships education programme, a patently sensible and low-intervention introduction that was grossly misrepresented in a scaremongering campaign that subsequently investigation showed to be exploited by conspiracy theorists.
Aside from the misinformation that damaged trust in institutions, the hysteria led to several schools being targeted by arson attacks, damage that remains unaccounted for.
Which may be what makes this latest wave of threats such a concern, early education is a pillar of our modern lives. Attacks or threats should be treated as an attack on our society as a whole.
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