In a plenary session of the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation this Wednesday, MP Chris Massaki questioned Minister Valérie Glatigny about the involvement of children in union mobilisations within schools. On 15 January, a nursery and primary school in Wavre indeed organised a mobilisation involving pupils aged 4 to 12, as part of the union's “black Wednesday”.
Photos circulated showing children dressed in black, some carrying slogans against the government's education policies. For the MP, the question arises of using children in a school setting for political or trade union purposes. How can it be ensured that schools within the Wallonia-Brussels Federation remain neutral places for pupils? What measures can be taken to guarantee respect for this neutrality? What responsibility falls on school authorities in such a situation?
In her response, the minister said she too was troubled by these photos. “The Education Code, in particular Article 1733, is very clear: it prohibits any propaganda or commercial activity in our schools. What is political propaganda? It is an action exerted on pupils to lead them to support a party or political ideas,” she stressed. “A commission can collect complaints, which it then issues as opinions to the government, and the government must decide whether or not there has been an infringement.” She also recalled that “anyone who believes that the ban on political propaganda in our schools has been violated can lodge a complaint with this commission, via the Enseignement.be website or directly on the commission's website”.