In a plenary session of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, MR group leader Diana Nikolic defended the MR's position on the second programme decree (DP2) with a clear line: guaranteeing the future of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation to continue sustainably funding its essential missions: education, youth, culture and sport.
Faced with an opposition that had announced it would do “everything” to prevent the text from being adopted, Diana Nikolic recalled a simple principle: in a parliamentary democracy, we debate, we weigh up arguments, and then Parliament decides. Preventing the vote is not an expression of democracy: quite the opposite. It is a blocking strategy.
Education accounts for more than half of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation's budget, and nearly two-thirds if all education-related policies are taken into account. In a difficult budgetary context, it is normal to look at what savings can be made.
For the MR, the real question is therefore not: “Should we act?”. The real question is: “How do we act responsibly, fairly and sustainably?”
The shift from 20 to 22 teaching periods for upper secondary teachers seems to crystallise all the concerns and opposition on the ground. Diana Nikolic explains: “It's a saving, but it's also common sense. Having one teacher in front of every class.”
Other, much harsher savings options existed. Slowing teachers' salary progression, abolishing pay scale 401, or simply putting an end to the DPPR were among the possible scenarios. These are not the choices that were made. The FWB chose the least impactful measure. “We are not closing our eyes. We are not passing on to future generations the cost of our political comfort today,” Diana Nikolic summarised.
But contrary to what the PS claims, this is not about net job losses. In a context of shortage, talking about “mass redundancies” or “social wreckage” is more of a slogan than reality.
And programme decree 2 isn't just about the 22 periods; the heart of this text, as far as school is concerned, is the teaching career as a whole: how one enters the profession, how one goes through it, and how one leaves it.