Pupils in primary and secondary school will no longer receive a free or low-cost laptop, and schools can apply to be part of the “inspirations schools” network. Flemish education minister Zuhal Demir made the announcements regarding the education system today.
Home News
‘Inspiration schools’ and back to pen and paper for Flemish education
Lisa Bradshaw
Published:
Flemish education minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) has announced a €30 million investment, which includes developing a network of “inspiration schools” and the establishment of a knowledge centre. The measures are meant to support schools in achieving the new, tougher eindtermen, or standards – the skills and knowledge that pupils are expected to have on every subject by the end of the school year.
Demir points to last year’s results of the TIMSS assessment – the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The test is taken every four years by pupils in the fourth year of primary school around the world. Flanders’ pupils declined the most last year compared to the previous testing period.
‘A wake-up call’
The minister says this was “a real wake-up call” to the need for educational reforms. Besides the new end-year standards, she announced a system of inspiration schools. Somewhat based on the UK’s Research Schools Network, the inspiration schools will implement best practices and then teach other schools to do the same.
“We are aiming for 30 schools that have already shown that they are committed to knowledge-rich curricula, clear routines and a safe school environment combined with high expectations,” said Demir. “They will be our locomotives, meant to inspire and pull other schools forward.”
Schools can apply to be part of the inspiration network and will be chosen by the region’s educational networks in early 2026. The first year of the two-year mandate will be dedicated to the school’s own development, while the second year will see them each lead 10 schools in the same development. Emphasis, said Demir, will be put on mathematics, a solid command of Dutch and more disciplined behaviour.
“Every student, regardless of their socio-economic situation, should be able to gain from this system,” said Demir. “Inspiration schools will show that this is possible and then spread that approach to other schools.”
At the same time, the government will no longer guarantee funds for schools to purchase laptops or tablets for pupils in the fifth year of primary school and up. The program was launched during the corona crisis with EU funds. Those funds have been used up, and Flanders will not take on the cost to renew all the devices.
Research has shown that using a pen and paper activates the brain, leading to better results
Education minister Zuhal Demir
The program allowed schools to either provide devices to pupils for free or offer them at a major discount. Demir is rolling out a plan of community ICT infrastructure in schools instead, such as computer labs or lending libraries for computers and tablets.
She said that schools can choose to provide pupils in the final two years with personal laptops or tablets if they want to. But, she warned, they cannot rely on public funding for this and are not allowed to charge parents more for the devices than the government advises.
The measures are meant to discourage the use of devices in the classroom. “Research has shown that using a pen and paper activates the brain, leading to better results,” she said.