Homeschooling in Flanders will face stricter inspections, the Flemish Minister of Education, Zuhal Demir, explained on Wednesday. The decision follows reports of child neglect and homeschooling violations.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of young people being educated at home has increased significantly. According to Demir, around 5,800 young people are now homeschooled in Flanders.
In the last academic school year, 766 inspections of "homeschools" were carried out. In total, 28 inspections received a negative assessment, ten of which were forwarded to the Public Prosecutor's Office. This month, the Agency for Education Services will forward another 115 cases due to missing certificates.
"I have been made aware of serious incidents involving disturbing home situations," said Demir, "Freedom of education does not mean the freedom not to educate your children...parents who do not give their child these opportunities are neglecting their children."
While acknowledging that most parents can provide good quality education, Demir notes that the increasing number of students educated at home requires stricter inspections.
The new measures require school inspectors to receive training to better recognise signs of child abuse. Moreover, home visits will be more targeted and frequent. The system to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect will also be more automatic.
"Children deserve to receive high-quality education in a safe learning environment. We want to offer our children that guarantee," Demir noted.
