Flemish Schools Face Larger Classes, Fewer Teachers

Secondary schools across Flanders will be forced to merge classes and reduce teaching staff starting September 1, 2026, as the full impact of budget cuts by Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) becomes clear. Schools are learning exactly how many teaching hours they will lose, with some facing the equivalent of over 100 full-time teacher positions cut across the public school network alone, according to De Morgen.

Context: From €150 Million to €63.54 Million

The cuts stem from the coalition agreement reached when the Flemish Government was formed in September 2024, which originally mandated €150 million in savings for secondary education starting in the 2026-2027 school year. After negotiations, the government reduced the figure to €63.54 million, using budget surpluses and three targeted measures, as the Vlaanderen.be official announcement confirmed on March 13, 2026.

A spokesperson for Minister Demir noted that the reduction from €150 million was significant, telling De Morgen: “Everyone seems to forget that we were supposed to save €150 million on secondary education. We have already been able to significantly reduce that.”

The Three Measures

The remaining savings are achieved through three specific measures. First, schools will receive 10 percent less in “degressive” funding for small class groups — additional funding that decreases as enrollment grows. Second, funding for follow-up coaches in OKAN (reception classes for newcomer students) has been reduced. Third, the points envelope for school community operations faces a 2.5 percent cut, as VRT NWS reported.

Real-World Impact on Schools

The Gemeenschapsonderwijs (GO!), Flanders’ public school network, will lose 2,280 teaching hours — equivalent to 95 to 109 full-time teachers. Individual schools are feeling the pinch acutely.

Don Bosco Groot-Bijgaarden is losing approximately 25 teaching hours, or just over one full-time teacher. Linde Van Cutsem, Personnel Manager at the school, described the situation as contradictory: “We will have to organize larger classes as a result. That is quite contradictory, in times when education quality needs to improve.”

At GO! Technisch Atheneum Lokeren, Director Cathy De Raes warned of the particular impact on vocational-technical schools. “In some schools that may have little impact. But in a vocational-technical school like ours, there is already a lot of diversity in the classroom,” she told De Morgen. “Add two or three extra students and it becomes even harder to take those differences into account.”

GO! Atheneum Heist-op-den-Berg is losing hours equivalent to approximately one full-time teacher. Operational Director Jan Reymenants expressed concern about the cumulative effect of multiple reforms, noting that from 2027 the school may lose another 2.5 full-time positions due to the reform of part-time education to full-time dual learning.

Political Reactions

Opposition parties have seized on the cuts. Line De Witte, a PVDA member of the Flemish Parliament who revealed through a parliamentary question that the degressivity measure alone saves €35.2 million, warned: “This saving will further lower the quality of our education and only increase the workload for the remaining teachers.”

Broader Reform Backlash

The budget cuts arrive amid a wave of education reforms that have strained relations between the minister and school leadership. On May 29, 2026, over 1,300 school directors published an open letter to Demir, complaining about the pace and volume of changes, as VRT NWS documented. Directors cited insufficient preparation time, late communication, and a feeling that their expertise was being ignored.

Demir met with a delegation and promised more informal consultation, saying: “I understand their frustration and I also understand that everything is moving quickly. On the other hand, we are of course dealing with the urgency that education quality has been in free fall for the past 20 years.”

Analysis: Equity Concerns

The cuts disproportionately affect vocational and technical schools (BSO/TSO), which serve more diverse student populations with varying academic needs. Educational equity advocates warn that larger classes in these settings will make differentiated instruction significantly harder, potentially widening achievement gaps.

What’s Next

Further measures will be needed for the 2027-2028 school year, though their nature has not yet been specified. With discontent simmering among teachers and directors, further protests or industrial action remain possible. The coming months will test whether Demir’s promise of more consultation can rebuild trust with an education sector under significant strain.