Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) has approved fewer than half of the applications for new study programmes in the specialised form of education called OV4, with only 31 out of 69 proposals receiving the go-ahead.
OV4 is one of four types of special education programmes that follow the curriculum of regular secondary education but with tailored objectives and support for students. Demir’s office notes that this is the first time such stringent selection has been applied.
“In our educational offerings, decisions must be made. Today, we provide a broad choice of study directions for our students. I understand that schools want to offer a wider range of options, but as minister, I must prioritise quality over quantity. Study programmes that only attract a few students can be valuable, but they are costly and fragment the overall offering. It’s a rational decision not to approve all applications,” said Demir.
One example of a rejected application is a school with fourteen students in the first year that wanted to offer three follow-up programmes in the field of Economy and Organisation in the second year.
“If a programme has only fourteen students, there’s no need for three follow-up programmes. That would mean just a few students per programme, making them unsustainable from the start. This would lower the quality of education. Moreover, taxpayers’ money should be spent efficiently,” Demir added.
Schools seeking to introduce a new OV4 programme can apply every two years. Applications are reviewed by the Agency for Educational Services (AGODI) and the Education Inspectorate. Schools whose applications were denied can submit an improved proposal by the end of April.
