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NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 21:47
In Zeeland they are not at all happy with a flyer campaign from the Belgian school group Skobo. Last week, flyers were distributed there to recruit Dutch children for Belgian education.
Mayor Marga Vermue of the municipality of Sluis demands that the Belgian school group stop the campaign and is outraged by the action. “Municipality and school boards, from both the municipality of Sluis and the entire Zeeuws-Vlaanderen region, express their dissatisfaction with the recruitment campaign by the Belgian school board,” says the mayor.
In addition, according to Vermue, agreements have been made between all educational institutions in the border region not to actively recruit students across the national border.
Also a website
Director Miek Kemel of the Belgian school group has no plans to stop the campaign and does not understand the commotion. “Many parents are charmed by our approach, which is reportedly more disciplined,” Kemel told the Belgian broadcaster VRT. She also says that the Flemish school group has been attracting students from Zeeland for years.
Not only is the campaign being conducted with flyers, the school group also recently launched its website naarschooloverdegrens.be. “The source of opportunities for parents and children from Zeeland, the Netherlands, who strive for a high-quality educational experience in Flanders,” the site reads.
An eye for an eye
Moreover, Mekel emphasizes, the Zeelanders themselves have been running a campaign for years to recruit teachers from Flanders (www.lesgeveninzeeland.nl). “We have never made that a problem on our part.” According to Vermue, the teacher campaign is not exclusively aimed at Flemish teachers. “That’s just a very small part of it,” Vermue said.
In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the regions are struggling with declining student numbers and a teacher shortage. In the municipality of Sluis, smaller schools have been forced to close their doors in recent years. The mayor of Sluis believes that the Belgian schools umbrella organization is trying to recruit the few Dutch students “beyond any standard of decency”.
2024-02-23 20:47:02
#Battle #ZeelandBelgian #border #students #teachers
