Just over half of parents in Belgium think the school summer holidays are too long and want the two-month period to be shortened, the results of a recent survey show.
In the French-speaking parts of Belgium, the summer holidays will be shortened by two weeks starting from the 2022-2023 school year. This will be compensated by an extra week in the autumn and in the spring holidays.
In Flanders, too, there is the question of whether the two-month summer holiday should be changed, which is why the Flemish Confederation of Parents and Parent Associations (VCOV) organised a survey that was completed by 14,014 parents, reports De Zondag.
"Opinions vary widely," director of education Karolien Bouchet of VCOV told the newspaper. "A slight majority of 51.5% wants to think about shortening the summer holidays."
Among the parents who would rather keep the two months of summer holidays (43.1%), a frequently heard argument is that the family, society and the work situation are geared to two months of holiday, she explained.
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The VCOV also asked parents which adjustments they would prefer if the distribution of school holidays were to be changed.
Slightly less than half of the parents (44.5%) prefer shortening the summer holidays by two weeks, combined with extending the autumn and spring holidays from one to two weeks each.
For 20.5% of the respondents, the summer holidays could be shortened without extending the autumn and spring breaks.
Other proposals include extending the Christmas holidays and introducing a full week's holiday in May instead of the extended weekend.
