Pupil-teacher ratio in Flemish schools has fallen during the past 10 years
Figures released on Tuesday by the Flemish Education Services Agency show that the pupil-teacher ratio in Flemish schools has fallen during the past 10 years. The fall in the number of pupils per teacher is evident in nursery, primary and secondary education. Since 2013 the number of teachers working in Flemish schools has increased by 14%, while the number of pupils has increased by 7%. Nevertheless, there is still a shortage of teachers in the region’s schools.
Between the 2013-2014 and 2022-2023 school years the number of teachers working in Flemish nursery, primary and secondary schools increased from 145,631 to 165,962, an increase of 14%. The number of full-time teaching posts in Flemish schools increased by 15% from 129,680 to 148,833. These figures only include teaching staff in nursery, primary and secondary schools.
During the same period the number of pupils rose much less sharply. In the 2013-2014 school year there were 1,213,638 pupils at Flemish nursery, primary and secondary schools. This is up 7% on the 1,137,239 pupils that there were during the 2013-2014 school year. Meanwhile, the pupil-teacher ratio in Flemish schools has fallen from an average of 14.7 during the 2013-2014 school year to 12.9 during the 2022-2023 school year.
Shortage of teachers remains an issue
In a reaction to the figures the Flemish Education Minister Ben Weyts (nationalist) said "The figure are clear. During the past few years the number of teachers has increased. This is at odds with the impression we have that there is a shortage of teachers. However, we can only address the issue of teacher shortages it we correctly identify the causes".
Mr Weyts points to "an exponential growth" in the number of secondary school courses that are only taken by just a few pupils. The Flemish Education Minister adds that an increase in the number of children with special educational needs and an increase in the number of children from non-Dutch speaking families means that some schools have to use staff to provide extra assistance to some of their pupils.
"We should be more reticent when it comes to labeling pupils as having ‘special needs’, there should be less fragmentation in the number of secondary school courses offered and we need to impress on parents that they should take greater responsibility when it comes to ensuring that their children learn sufficient Dutch”, Mr Weyts said.