160 Antwerp teenagers that have been expelled from school are unable to find a new school
According to a report in Friday’s edition of the daily ‘De Standaard’ some 160 secondary school pupils in Antwerp currently don’t have a place at a school. The figure published by ‘De Standaard’ have been confirmed by VRT News' sources. The teenagers were all expelled from their previous school but have been unable to find a place at another school. Some of the youngsters have been sitting at home for weeks or even months. Schools say that they can no longer cope with the influx of youngsters with that have behavioural or other issues.
The Coordinating Director of the Flemish Community Schools’ Education Board (GO!) in Antwerp Ann Huybrechts says that the number of teenagers that are sitting at home because they have been expelled from their secondary school has never been so high. “These are pupils who are permanently excluded from school, often this is due to transgressive behaviour, a one-off incident or an accumulation of incidents”.
When a pupil is expelled, another school is sought for them. "Usually, the headteacher contacts other schools and the CLB (Centre for Pupil Guidance) is called in, and they look for a place at another school. Preferably offering same course, so that there is continuity. However, sometimes this is easier said than done. Schools are allowed to refuse pupils.
Ms Huybrechts told journalists "There is an agreement with the LOP (Local Consultative Platform) in Antwerp. It states that schools with classes that already have a pupil with a disciplinary problem can say ‘no we cannot take another young person with this kind of issue’. This is because pupils like these often have a big impact on classroom life and often disrupt lessons."
Schools asking for help
"Schools are asking for help because they have classes full of children with behavioural problems, children that have engaged in transgressive behaviour, children that are tired of school or are demotivated or whose parents are uncooperative or obstructive”.
But what needs to be done? "On the one hand, we have a structural issue with the shortage of school places in Antwerp. We hope to start the new school year with more places."
"Secondly there is currently too little support available for schools that are confronted with these issues. Our schools have a lot of problems. It appears that these have come to the fore since the end of the coronavirus crisis. The support that is available is inadequate. The people from CLB are trying very hard but it’s still not enough".