Each school in Belgium has (on average) at least one teacher vacancy, according to a new survey from the educational organisation Community Education, De Morgen reported on Tuesday.
Community Education conducted a survey in September of 518 out of its 711 members. It found that 739 full-time positions were open. 627 vacancies were for teachers, the rest were for support staff.
"That amounts to about 1,000 open vacancies, 900 of which are for teachers," said Community Education spokesperson Nathalie Jennes.
The shortage is most acute in secondary schools where almost three-quarters of surveyed schools reported one or more vacancies. At primary schools, six in ten schools have at least one teacher vacancy.
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Community Education expressed concern at the figures: "The shortage is normally lowest at the start of the school year because that is when new graduates enter the labour market and there is no dropout yet," said Jennes.
Recently, the Flemish government put in place new measures to address the shortage but Community Education is calling for additional measures. Further to this, the organisation created a six-year plan together with the schools to mitigate the shortage.
Teacher shortages aren't unique to Belgium. The whole continent is struggling with recruiting teachers, even in countries with attractive wages.
