Autumn break extended in French-language education

Pupils in French-speaking education will have autumn holidays this year from 31 October to 11 November. This confirms Minister of Education Caroline Désir (PS) The standard.

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In French-speaking education, the autumn holidays will be extended a few days this year. Primary and secondary students are not required to go to school from Saturday, October 31 to Wednesday, November 11. Normally the holiday falls between October 31st and November 8th. For various reasons, ‘the bridge’ is now being made with 11 November, Armistice Day. In fact, only two days of lessons are canceled: Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November.

“We want to alleviate the situation both in schools and in society,” explains Jean-François Mahieu, spokesman for French-speaking Education Minister Caroline Désir (PS). The minister made the decision together with the education sector. ‘Many schools have organizational problems,’ says Mahieu. ‘Many teachers are ill, are in quarantine or are waiting for the results of their test. It is often impossible for management boards to complete the puzzle. ‘

In addition to the organizational motive, there is also the health argument. By extending the school holidays, the minister hopes that the speed at which the virus spreads can decrease somewhat.

Extra leave

Today suggested The standard whether a two-week autumn break can slow down the epidemic. In Northern Ireland, they are already opting for it, after a British study highlighted the benefits.

Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA) rejects the idea of ​​a longer holiday. The minister refers to the new figures on infections in Flemish education. Between September 28 and October 11, 1,795 students and 411 staff were infected. That amounts to 0.15 and 0.25 percent of the total. By way of comparison: in the past two weeks, 0.35 percent of the 20 to 59 year-olds in the entire Flemish population became infected.

‘The infections are better controlled within the school walls than outside,’ says Weyts. ‘Moreover, there is already a learning gap due to corona. Society is also set for that one week of autumn holidays. An extension requires many parents to take extra leave. ‘

The two largest educational umbrella organizations, Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen and GO! -Onderwijs do not wish to comment for the time being on the step taken by the French Community to extend the autumn holidays. They say they will discuss the matter at the scheduled meeting on Monday.

Politically, the idea was suggested earlier this week by Green Member of Parliament Elisabeth Meuleman. She proposed to bring forward or extend the autumn holiday in order to limit the number of infections. That is a route that the CD&V considered ‘worth investigating’ at the time.

In French-speaking Belgium, too, schools are now in code yellow, without additional distance education for secondary education. Earlier today, higher education announced that it would switch to code orange from Monday.

Earlier this week, Ghent University researcher Bart Mesuere showed with the animation below how the virus has spread throughout the country again in a few weeks.

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