French-Community Minister Calls for ‘Electroshock’ to Reverse School Decline
Education Minister Valérie Glatigny says French-speaking schools need a dramatic overhaul, proposing higher exam thresholds and extra support.
Valérie Glatigny, representing the liberal Reformist Movement, argued that French-speaking education has been on a twenty-year downward trend, prompting her call for an “electroshock” to the system. The upcoming reforms, approved by the Parliament of the French Community, will increase minimum scores for the CEB, CE1D and CESS exams to 50-60% and introduce a €25 million fund for targeted support, creating 460 new teaching posts.
A new CLÉ test will be administered in the fourth year of primary school to identify gaps in reading, writing and maths without affecting grades. Curriculum changes will boost hours for mathematics and language studies in the first year of secondary school. The government expects the measures to generate €86.7 million in savings in 2026 while preserving funding for teachers and infrastructure.
Why it matters
The plan could reshape education standards for millions of French-speaking Belgian students.
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