Belgian Teachers Face Uncertainty Over Lost Hours as School Year Approaches

As the new school year approaches in Belgium’s French-speaking community, teachers and school directors are grappling with deep uncertainty over lost teaching hours and potential reassignments stemming from a sweeping education reform. The reform, which takes effect for the 2026-2027 school year, imposes two additional teaching hours per week — from 20 to 22 periods — for teachers in the upper secondary level (4th, 5th, and 6th years), a 10% increase in workload that is reshaping school schedules across the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB).

A Reform With Far-Reaching Consequences

The reform is part of broader budget-saving measures by the MR-Engagés government of the FWB, which faces a deficit of approximately 1.6 billion euros. According to RTBF, the increased teaching load means that in many schools, teachers with less seniority are losing hours — or in some cases, their entire teaching assignments — as schools redistribute available periods among staff.

Julie Landrieu, a language teacher with five years of full-time experience at the same school, finds herself unexpectedly updating her CV this summer. “I knew it would have repercussions on my schedule, but to lose all my hours, I admit I was a little sad,” she told RTBF. “It’s the school where I’ve been since the beginning. It’s still very unclear for the upcoming school year.”

For Landrieu, recovering a full-time position may require working across two or even three schools. Beyond the logistical challenges, she worries about the impact on pedagogical projects. “Trips, visits, or city trips to Flemish cities require more investment,” she explained. “If I have to manage several schools, it can become demotivating.”

School Directors Caught in the Middle

School directors bear the difficult responsibility of informing teachers about reduced hours or reassignments. Christel Depotte, a director in the Tournai/Péruwelz area of Hainaut, has already had to notify 16 teachers about reduced hours or placement in availability.

“We’re placing teachers in availability in many disciplines: physical education, modern languages, sciences, French,” Depotte told RTBF. “And the other schools in the secondary education center will probably do the same.”

The scheduling challenge is particularly acute. As RTBF reported, many subjects in general education are organized in four-hour blocks. Previously, teachers in the upper level received five blocks of four hours, totaling 20. Now, with the requirement to reach 22 hours, some classes — for example in French — will need two different teachers, complicating continuity and coordination.

Julien Bauduin, director of the Athénée provincial mixte Warocqué in Morlanwelz, described the emotional toll: “From the moment you increase everyone by 10%, inevitably, those at the back of the pack or the least senior will lose their job or at least part of their job. We always work by seniority… And the last ones, when there are no more hours, we have to see them, explain the situation, the drama they’re going to live through.”

Government Defends the Reform

Minister-President Elisabeth Degryse (Les Engagés) and Education Minister Valérie Glatigny (MR) maintain there will be no net job losses. According to RTBF’s interview with Degryse, approximately 2,170 full-time equivalents (FTE) will be freed up in upper secondary through natural departures, against an estimated 1,300 FTE in savings from the reform.

“If we increase the number of hours worked by each teacher, it’s inevitable that some teachers will be surplus,” Degryse acknowledged. “I didn’t say they lose their job or their workload, I say they become surplus.” She noted that a freeze on reassignments will allow the transition to be smoothed over two years.

To protect the most vulnerable, a decree approved in July shields priority temporary teachers from losing their positions until at least December 31, 2026, with possible extension to July 2, 2027. As Les Engagés explained, affected teachers will be assigned complementary periods for pedagogical or organizational tasks. The measure benefits approximately 700 FTE and reduces the reform’s savings by up to 16 million euros.

Union Mobilization Threatens a Disrupted Start

Teacher unions — CSC Enseignement, SETCA-SEL, and CGSP Enseignement — have filed a strike notice covering August 17 to September 27, 2026, and are planning actions for the start of the school year. As RTBF reported, union leaders remain defiant.

“The anger will continue to express itself with various actions until the government understands that at some point, we need to proceed differently and return to real social dialogue,” said Roland Lahaye, Secretary General of CSC Enseignement.

Adrien Rosman of SETCA-SEL warned: “In the absence of satisfactory responses, we must fear a disrupted school year start, and therefore mobilization, awareness, or even strike actions at the start of the school year.”

A Profession in Distress

The uncertainty is taking a heavy toll on morale. As RTBF documented, teachers describe working “in a vacuum” and struggling to maintain motivation.

“It’s very demotivating,” said Gilles Bya, a history, geography, and social sciences teacher. “It’s hard to keep morale up because there’s no certainty for next year. I don’t know if I’ll have to change careers, if I can continue teaching, or if I’ll have to turn to another profession.”

A survey by the Fédération royale des professeurs de grec et de latin (FRPGL) and ACFLA found that nearly 70% of ancient language teachers in the FWB say they will lose hours at the start of the school year — with 66% of tenured teachers and 87% of temporary teachers affected, according to Télésambre. Losses average 11-14 teaching periods.

What to Watch For

School directors return to work on August 17, at which point affected teachers will be contacted and reassignment possibilities examined. With the first students expected in some schools by August 24, the coming weeks will be critical. The question now is whether the government’s assurances of no net job losses will hold — and whether the threat of strike action materializes into a disrupted start to the school year.