In an interview with De Standaard, Lieven Viaene, the CEO of the education inspectorate, criticized the way in which Education Minister Weyts and his cabinet have dealt with the Flemish education inspectorate in recent years. Viaene, who is stepping down as inspector general, has seen in recent years how the minister tried to limit the independence of the inspectorate. Press releases were rewritten, various reports – about air quality in schools or the elaboration of the pilot projects – were not distributed and pressure was put on from the cabinet to intervene in files about specific schools.
“An education minister who intervenes in the decisions of the education inspectorate is creepy and, above all, very harmful,” responds Hannelore Goeman of the opposition party Vooruit. “Weyts is really a danger to the quality of education. He will silence anyone who does not support his balloons. The fact that he even interferes in individual inspections is unprecedented.”
“The primacy of politics has completely gone awry in Flanders. It is detrimental to good governance,” responds Elisabeth Meuleman of Groen. “Weyts merely degrades an inspection service to the executor of his ideological policy. If it is true that Minister Weyts has improperly intervened in crucial files, he will have to account for this in parliament.”
Vlaams Belang also wants an explanation from Weyts. “This is improper interference and a serious threat to the independence and operation of the inspection,” says Roosmarijn Beckers. “We want text and explanation as quickly as possible. If the allegations are true and the minister actually practices censorship, he has no choice but to resign.”
There is also loud criticism within the majority. Open VLD and CD&V are very critical of the minister’s attitude. Jean-Jacques De Gucht (Open VLD) wants the Education Committee to meet urgently. “The Education Committee must be convened to provide more clarity. The independence of the education inspectorate is crucial. An objective evaluation is therefore necessary. Only then can we thoroughly investigate the extent to which there has been interference and undue political pressure.”
Weyts’ response is also not appreciated by CD&V. The minister said, among other things, “if Viaene wants to become independent, he can start a shop or a hairdresser’s shop. Until then, he will carry out what the Flemish democracy asks of him.” For Loes Vandromme (CD&V), the minister misses the essence. “Undue political pressure can never be the intention. If the inspectorate is asked to do what democracy demands, the inspectorate will report better to parliament than to the minister of education.”
‘Demoted to errand boys’
There is also outrage in the educational field. “We are extremely surprised that the minister denies the autonomy of the Education Inspectorate in his response,” says Lieven Boeve, CEO of Catholic Education Flanders. “If our schools cannot count on the inspectorate being able to conduct its investigation with complete objectivity and communicate about it transparently, then education has a major problem.”
“If inspectors are relegated to being messengers of the individual political wishes of the competent minister, then political influence down to the classroom floor is the result,” he says. “That is at odds with the freedom of education. Even if we occasionally have substantive disagreements with the Education Inspectorate, every actor must be able to continue to play its role, which is laid down by legislation.”
