Dutch in Belgium: Walloon Students Turn Away as Brussels Embraces the Language

A striking linguistic paradox is unfolding in Belgium. In Wallonia, the southern, French-speaking region of the country, students are increasingly shunning Dutch — the language of Flanders, Belgium’s economically dominant north. Yet just 30 kilometers away, in officially bilingual Brussels, demand for Dutch is soaring, with francophone families flocking to Dutch-language schools and adults lining up for language courses.

According to a comprehensive analysis by RTBF, the divergence reveals deep-seated linguistic, economic, and social dynamics that have shaped Belgium for generations.

The Decline in Wallonia: A Two-Decade Trend

The numbers tell a stark story. In 2005-06, nearly one in two Walloon secondary school students chose Dutch as their first foreign language. By 2025-26, that figure had fallen to just one in four (25%). Meanwhile, English has surged to 73%, with German trailing at 2%. As DaarDaar/Het Belang van Limburg reported, two decades ago the split was roughly 49% English and 49% Dutch — a near-perfect balance that has now collapsed.

In primary schools, 87,723 students chose Dutch in Wallonia in 2025-26, a figure that saw a recent uptick attributed to the rollout of the “tronc commun” (common core) curriculum. But the secondary school decline is unambiguous.

At the university level, the situation is even more concerning. For 2025-26, only 703 students had Dutch as their main subject at French-speaking universities. Julien Perrez, a lecturer in Dutch linguistics at ULiège, reports that master’s enrollment in Dutch studies has halved since 2010.

The Brussels Paradox: Rising Demand in the Capital

While Dutch retreats in Wallonia, it is gaining remarkable ground in Brussels. The percentage of students in Dutch-language secondary schools whose parents speak only French at home has risen from 3.7% in 1991-92 to 32.4% in 2025-26, according to VGC statistics cited by RTBF.

Adult demand is also exploding. Patrick Manghelinckx, director of the Maison du Néerlandais (House of Dutch) in Brussels, reports that demand for Dutch courses among adults now exceeds the organization’s capacity to respond. A motivations study found that learning Dutch is rarely a goal in itself for Brussels residents — it is a lever toward three major life objectives: getting a better job, securing a brighter future for their children, and making new contacts with Dutch speakers.

Yet the BRIO linguistic barometer from 2024 paints a sobering picture: fewer than 10% of young Brussels residents who went through French-language education report speaking Dutch “well to perfectly.”

Historical Roots and Social Divides

Laurence Mettewie, professor of Dutch at the University of Namur, traces the disaffection back to the late 19th century. “Working-class immigration from the North fostered a negative image of Dutch,” she told RTBF. “People even feared that teaching the language in Wallonia would be a Trojan horse. Even today, Dutch carries this reputation as a complex and unattractive language.”

Mettewie also highlights a growing social class divide. “Young people who study it come from families with high and stable socio-cultural capital, who choose this language deliberately, as a key to a better future. Conversely, more vulnerable families turn to English, with the illusion that English is enough.”

The Policy Response: Mandatory Dutch from 2027

Education Minister Valérie Glatigny (MR) has announced a major policy shift: Dutch (or German) will become mandatory from the third year of primary school starting in 2027-28, expanding to the sixth year by 2030-31. From 2031, Dutch would be the mandatory first foreign language in secondary school, with possible exceptions.

As SIEP noted, the government acknowledges that the success of this reform depends on the ability to recruit and train teachers, as the shortage is particularly acute in these subjects. Plans include recruiting from Flanders and valuing up to seven years of seniority for Flemish teachers.

Griet Vanryckegem, N-VA senator and president of the interparliamentary commission of the Nederlandse Taalunie, welcomed the decision. “We too often underestimate the importance of Dutch,” she said. “It is not only a language of culture and education, it is also an economic asset. Investing in Dutch is also investing in the job market, entrepreneurship, and the knowledge economy.”

The Teacher Shortage Crisis

The mandatory Dutch policy faces a fundamental challenge: there are not enough qualified teachers. The decline in Dutch studies at university level means fewer graduates entering the teaching profession. Katrien De Rycke of UCLouvain has advocated for harmonized school calendars between Flanders and French-speaking Belgium to facilitate teacher exchanges.

As RTBF reported in February 2026, schools already struggle to fill Dutch teaching positions. In Brussels, some schools have had to switch to a four-day week to retain teachers who commute from Flanders.

What’s Next

The coming years will test whether Belgium can bridge its internal linguistic divide. Minister Glatigny’s mandatory Dutch policy represents a bold attempt to reverse decades of decline, but its success hinges on solving the teacher shortage and making the language genuinely attractive to students.

As Laurence Mettewie cautioned: “Symbolically, it is important to impose Dutch, first out of respect for the other community, then for all the economic and cultural opportunities. But if we don’t change anything about the human and didactic means to teach it, we will just create disgust and frustration. We will need to invest and make it attractive.”

With the first mandatory Dutch classes set to begin in 2027-28, the clock is ticking for Belgium’s education system to rise to the challenge.