Prevention is better than cure... In education too

Multiple studies have confirmed the importance of the first 12 years of life, but this aspect remains ignored from a budgetary and political point of view.

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Did you also have the ball in the belly in front of “Don’t look up”? This blockbuster recounts the collision of a comet with the Earth, after the gravity of its impact has been denied despite the incessant warnings of astronomers.

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Satire portrays an uncomfortable truth: prevention is often more effective than repair, and yet we do not choose this path. Because successful prevention is invisible: it does not let the problem emerge. Prevention is therefore rarely rewarded and much more often neglected.

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Take health care, for example: it’s disease that drives money, not prevention. Unfortunately, this is also the case for education and youth. Multiple studies have confirmed the importance of the first 12 years of life, but this aspect remains ignored from a budgetary and political point of view. We are told that our origins should not determine our future, without however activating the necessary levers to achieve this. A change is needed.

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Among the social challenges demanding political attention, the great inequalities in education within our country are an often overlooked invisible problem. We complain about the decline in PISA results and the strongest correlation between socio-economic status and educational performance among OECD countries, but the government offers few additional resources for vulnerable youth socio-economically.

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Invest preventively

Moreover, the education budget is disproportionately allocated to secondary and higher education. Authorities are rushing to present big plans to get young school leavers back on track, but have been slow to tackle dire staff shortages announced in childcare services and schools.

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We need skills to acquire others. Building a promising future starts with solid foundations.

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Basic literacy in primary and secondary education is receiving increasing attention, but from the age of three, the language gap is significant. An advantaged child knows an average of 1,200 words, a disadvantaged child only 400. However, preventive investment in socio-economically vulnerable youth represents significant potential and benefits for all. This approach helps to eliminate problems such as crime, long-term unemployment and poverty.

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Research abounds to show that the greatest impact is achieved through prevention, starting in early childhood. Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics, is known for his work on early intervention. His point of view in five words? Skills beget skills. We need skills to acquire others. Building a promising future starts with solid foundations.

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An ambitious policy aimed at (older) young people, aimed at detecting as well as addressing challenges at an early stage, and focusing on prevention rather than cure, is lacking. It takes courage and resources. This money, however, we are already spending.

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Belgium has a disproportionate number of repeaters in secondary education, with a cost of 7,798 euros per child per year. Nearly one young person in 10 leaves secondary education without a diploma and for disadvantaged young people from Brussels of non-European origin, this figure rises to almost one in two, according to certain studies.

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Unfortunately, young people who leave school early often become NEETs, i.e. young people aged 15 to 29 «Not in Education, Employment or Training». According to some estimates, a NEET costs society around one million euros during its lifetime. However, the means of preventing early school leaving, repetition and NEETs are limited; more visible measures are often favored, such as support when the damage has already been done.

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Redirect resources

How to do better in the future? To give more importance to prevention, we must introduce a series of measures that cut across different age groups, skill areas and levels of power.

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Let’s focus investments early on and prioritize support for vulnerable young people.

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Belgium spends above average on education, but not always in the best way or at the right time in the life course. Some of the best measures for the development of our (vulnerable) youth are even found elsewhere. Think, for example, of quality and accessible childcare services. We plead for a redirection of resources. Let’s focus investments early on and prioritize support for vulnerable young people.

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Let’s also – as much as possible – break down the walls between areas of competence and levels of power. Our young people deserve a transversal approach focused on long-term results. Excessive fragmentation between skill areas and power levels often does not benefit their development, as it prevents long-term oriented work. He who sows is often (too) impatient to reap. Make efforts and results more visible – through funding models such as «Social Impact Bonds» – can help in part, but this approach requires above all a famous political courage.

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As for the private sector, civil society and families themselves? Let’s all roll up our sleeves for the benefit of the youngest and most vulnerable and cheer for prevention — at all levels — more often.

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Sofie Foets
Founder of TADA ASBL

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Simon Ghiotto
Fellow Itinera

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Prevention is better than cure… In education too

Invest preventively

Redirect resources

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