ICT coordinators get separate status – De Standaard

After a year in which the laptop and the internet were more important than ever, Minister Weyts wants to give the ICT coordinators their own status.

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“The ICT coordinators have done a fantastic job during the corona crisis,” said Education Minister Ben Weyts (N-VA), who talks about “hidden heroes of distance learning”. This was often the computer science teacher, but sometimes also the geography or physical education teacher. With a separate statute, ICT coordinators must be able to fully focus on ICT.

The money for ICT coordination is also increasing by 70 percent: from 32 million euros per year to 54 million euros per year. This also increases expectations. ‘The ICT coordinators must not only contribute technically, but also pedagogically and policy-wise to digital education in the school,’ says Koen Vandenhoudt, chairman of the Flemish ICT coordinators League.

Vandenhoudt speaks of a milestone. ‘Until now, the government has focused on the performance of networks, hardware and software. Now she also invests in people.’ At the same time, he also puts the reform into perspective: ‘A 70 percent increase from very little is still little.’ In addition, there is still uncertainty about the salary expectations for coordinators in the new statute.

For the time being, IT professionals from the private sector will not be able to cash in on their seniority with a career switch to education as a coordinator, something that Jo Brouns (CD&V) advocates from the majority. He doubts whether the necessary expertise can now be attracted.

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