The Education Minister of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Valérie Glatigny, will present a proposal to the Government in June to ban the wearing of religious or ideological symbols by teachers in official education, both organised and subsidised. The goal: to apply this ban from the start of the September 2026 school year.
In Belgium, official education is neutral because it is a public service open to all, without distinction of belief. A principle enshrined in the Constitution and confirmed by the School Pact of 1958. This guarantees that every pupil is respected in their philosophical or religious choices, that the school imposes no ideology, and that it educates young people in critical thinking, dialogue and citizenship. However, some Brussels municipal officials are considering a step backwards regarding the neutrality of education and public services by allowing teachers to wear religious or ideological symbols in the name of tackling the teacher shortage. A situation deplored by Valérie Glatigny, which encouraged her to take an important step: strengthening neutrality through a clear measure, carried at the level of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
Indeed, the Minister has just announced her intention to ban the wearing of religious or ideological symbols by teachers in official education from 2026, in order to strengthen neutrality in education, in line with the Community Policy Statement. Valérie Glatigny expressed her wish to “go as far as possible” to guarantee a neutral school environment for all schools and for pupils.
The goal set out by the MR Minister is clear: to clarify a situation seen as unclear and a source of tension, by guaranteeing the neutrality of education and equal treatment for all pupils. “The official school must be a shared space, protected from any form of influence or proselytism,” Valérie Glatigny insisted.