Education in Belgium is regulated and for the larger part financed by one of the three communities: Flemish, French and German-speaking. All three communities have a unified school system with small differences from communitt to another. The national goverment plays a very small role: it decides directly the age for mandatory schooling and indirectly the financing of the communities.
The schools can be divided in three groups (Dutch: netten; French: réseaux):
The latter is the largest group, both in number of schools and in number of pupils.
Education in Belgium is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 18.[1] Private home education is possible, and the numbers are rising slowly. For the year 2005—2006 the number of home schooled children in Flanders rose to 580 out of a total of 1 million.[2]
In the 2003 PISA-study [3] by the OECD, the Belgian students scored relatively high. The results of the Dutch-speaking students were significantly higher than the scores of the German-speaking students which were in turn significantly higher than the French-speaking students.[4]
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In the past there were conflicts between state schools and catholic schools, and disputes whether the latter should be funded by the government. The 1958 School Pact was an agreement of the three large political parties to end these conflicts.
The 1981 state reform transferred some matters from the federal Belgian level to the communities. A few years later, in 1988, the majority of educational matters was transferred. Nowadays, very few general matters are regulated on a national level. The current ministries for education are the Flemish Government, the Government of the French Community and the Government of the German-speaking Community for each community respectively. Brussels, being bilingual French-Dutch, has both schools provided by the Flemish and French-speaking community. Municipalities with language facilities often have schools of two communities (Dutch-French or German-French) as well.
The different stages of education are the same in all communities:
Free pre-primary schooling (Dutch: kleuteronderwijs; French: enseignement maternel; German: Kindergarten) is provided to every child from the age of 2 years 6 months. In most schools the child can start in school as soon as they reach this age, so class size for the youngest children grows during the year. In the Flemish region, start dates are limited to 6 per year, after a school holiday period and the first school day in February.
The aim of pre-school is to develop, in a playful way, children's cognitive skills, their capacity to express themselves and communicate, their creativity and independence. There are no formal lessons or assessments, and everything is done in a playful way.
Although it is not compulsory, more than 90% of all children in the age category attend pre-school.[5]
Most pre-schools are attached to a particular primary school. Preschools and primary schools often share buildings and other facilities. Some schools offer special pre-primary education for children with disabilities or other special needs.
Primary school (Dutch: lager onderwijs; French: enseignement primaire; German: Grundschule) consists of six years and the subjects given are generally the same at all schools. Primary schooling is free and age is the only entrance requirement.
Primary education is divided into three cycles (Dutch: graden; French: degrés):
Education in primary schools is rather traditional: it concentrates on reading, writing and basic mathematics, but also touches already a very broad range of topics (biology, music, religion, history, etc.). School usually starts about 8:30 and finishes around 15:30. A lunch time break is usually provided from 12:00 to 13:30. Wednesday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday are free. While morning lessons often concentrate on reading, writing and basic mathematics, lessons in the afternoon are usually about other topics like biology, music, religion, history or "do it yourself" activities.
Flemish schools in Brussels and some municipalities near the language border, must offer French lessons starting from the first or the second year. Most other Flemish school offer French education in the third cycle. Some of the latter schools offer non-mandatory French lessons already in the second cycle. Primary schools in the French Community must teach a foreign language, which is generally Dutch or English, depending on the school. Primary schools in the German Community have obligatory French lessons.
There are also some private schools set up to serve various international communities in Belgium (e.g. children of seafarers or European diplomats), mainly around the larger cities. Some schools offer special primary education for children with disabilities or other special needs.
When graduating from primary school around the age of 12, students enter secondary education. Here they have to choose a course that they want to follow, depending on their skill level and interests.
Secondary education consists of three cycles (Dutch: graden; French: degrés):
The Belgian secondary education grants the pupils more choice as they enter a higher cycle. The first cycle provides a broad general basis, with only a few options to choose from (such as Latin, additional mathematics, technology). This should enable students to orient themselves in the most suitable way towards the many different courses available in the second and third stages. The second and third cycle are much more specific in each of the possible directions. While the youngest pupils may choose at the most two or four hours per week, the oldest pupils have the opportunity to choose between different "menus": like Math-Science, Sociology-Languages or Latin-Greek. They are then able to shape the largest part of the time they spend at school. However, some core lessons are compulsory like the first language and sport, etc. This mix between compulsory and optional lessons grouped in menus make it possible to keep class structures even for the oldest students.
Secondary school is divided into four general types. Each type consists of a set of different directions that may vary from school to school. The general types are as follows:
Students with disabilities can follow Special Secondary Education (Dutch: Buitengewoon Secundair Onderwijs; BuSO; French: Enseignement Secondaire spécial), of different types.
Higher education in Belgium is organized by the two main communities, the Flemish Community and the French Community. German speakers typically enroll in institutions in the French Community or in Germany.
In Belgium anybody with a qualifying diploma of secondary education is free to enroll at any institute of higher education of their choosing. The 3 major exceptions to this rule are those wanting to pursue a degree in:
The registration fee for any university or college is fixed by the government, and indexed yearly. Depending on whether the student is eligible and applies for financial aid, there are 3 prices:
The financial aid awarded by the community governments depends on the income of the student's family, and other familial circumstances, but is never more than approximately €3300 per year. The aid is not at all based on the student's results in high-school. Nevertheless, students who fail too many classes can lose their financial aid.
Prior to the adoption of the Bologna process, the Belgian higher education system had the following degrees:
A University education was not considered finished until the licentiate diploma is obtained. Occasionally it was possible to switch specializations after obtaining the candidate diploma. For example, a student with a mathematics candidate diploma was often allowed to start in the third year of computer science class. Sometimes a graduate diploma was also accepted as an equivalent to a candidate diploma (with additional courses if necessary), allowing for 2 or 3 more years of education at a University.
Since the adoption of the Bologna process in most European countries, the higher education system in Belgium follows the Bachelor/Master system:
In Belgium, both Universities and Colleges are allowed to teach Bachelor and Master classes, either professional or academical.
After obtaining a Master's degree, talented students can pursue research projects leading to a doctorate degree. PhD's are only awarded by Universities.
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