On Monday 25 November, the Education Minister of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation received her French counterpart.
During this bilateral meeting, Valérie Glatigny and Anne Genetet discussed several topics of concern to both Belgium and France, including the teacher shortage and the teaching career, as well as the fight against radicalisation. These topics will be the subject of an exchange of best practices within a working group.
Following the murders of teachers Samuel Paty in October 2020 and Dominique Bernard in October 2023, the French Ministry of National Education has been developing measures to combat radicalisation in schools and violence against teachers. This is work that the Wallonia-Brussels Federation wishes to draw inspiration from, as it too is faced with rising radicalisation in certain schools. In this context, a first joint working group on radicalisation in schools will be set up.“In France, it was decided that a liaison officer would be appointed in police stations to strengthen the protection of school staff. This liaison officer acts as a dedicated link with schools for more effective action. I want to draw inspiration from this idea and see how we could also implement it here”, explained Valérie Glatigny at the end of the meeting.
Further bilateral discussions are expected to follow in the medium term on the issue of tackling the teacher shortage. In this regard, France has expressed interest in the measures that will be introduced in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation to attract second-career teachers to schools and thus reduce the shortage.
