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Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA) has asked the education sector and the social partners for advice on a possible shortening of the summer holiday. The employers’ organization Voka points out that such a reduction can cause problems for companies.
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The discussion about shortening the summer holidays for schools has been raging in Flemish education for a number of years. According to experts, the school holidays last too long, which means that children lose too much knowledge and it is more difficult to connect with the subject matter in September.
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Such a system was approved in French-language education earlier this year and will be introduced from next school year. As a result, Weyts wants to once again create space for the debate.
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Weyts has now asked for advice from the actors in the educational world and also involves the parents in the discussion, De Standaard wrote on Friday. For example, a number of parents with children in a Catholic school received a survey by email from the parent umbrella organization VCOV yesterday. He asks whether they would like to see a reduction, with an extension of the autumn and spring holidays in exchange, as is the case with the French-language arrangement.
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Labor unions
The final recommendations of the Vlor Education Council and the social partners are not expected until the spring of 2022. At the ACOD socialist union, 57 percent of teachers are in favor of keeping the current arrangement and 43 percent want to change it, secretary general Nancy Libert said.
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The impact of such a decision goes far beyond education alone. It can become more difficult for companies to get their summer organized if the period in which everyone wants to go on holiday is shortened by two weeks.
Eric Laureys
Spokesperson Voka
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The employers’ organization Voka is also going to gauge the support for a shorter summer holiday among its members. ‘Pedagogically speaking, it’s a good idea, but we also have to make the economic decision,’ says spokesman Erik Laureys. ‘The impact of such a decision goes much further than just education. It can become more difficult for companies to get their summer organized if the period in which everyone wants to go on holiday is shortened by two weeks. This can cause problems in the production companies, as a certain amount of staff is always required there.’
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A possible shortening of the summer holidays would also have a major impact on the tourism sector, says Laureys. ‘Less summer holidays will inevitably weigh on turnover, and we doubt whether that can be compensated by those extra weeks during the autumn or Christmas holidays. This debate must be conducted thoroughly and that is why we are going to ask our members and sectors about this.’
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