Record Number of Belgian Teachers Seek to Leave Profession

The CSC-Enseignement education union has reported an unprecedented wave of teachers calling to leave the profession, as Belgium’s French-speaking community braces for a turbulent school year marked by controversial reforms and a deepening teacher shortage.

Roland Lahaye, Secretary General of the CSC-Enseignement union, told La Première radio on Tuesday that the organization has never received so many calls from teachers asking how to exit the profession. Speaking just days before the start of the new school year, he warned that the situation reflects a growing crisis in the education sector of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB).

A Profession Losing Its Appeal

According to RTBF, Lahaye said young teachers are now leaving the profession even before completing five years of service, with some departing after just one year. “Because the conditions are no longer met, there is no longer the necessary attractiveness to draw young people to this profession,” he said.

The union leader pointed to the controversial décret-programme 2, which increases the teaching load for upper secondary teachers from 20 to 22 periods per week—a 10 percent increase without salary compensation. The measure, which takes effect from the 2026-2027 school year, is expected to disorganize schools and exacerbate the existing teacher shortage.

The Décret-Programme 2 Controversy

The décret-programme 2, a comprehensive budget decree containing 199 articles and 348 pages, was voted by the Parliament of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles in June after 14 hours of debate. As RTBF detailed, the reforms also include changes to sick leave rules, limits on uncertified one-day absences, cuts to free school meals and supplies budgets, and higher university tuition fees.

The government argues these measures are necessary to save 500 million euros by 2029 and reduce the FWB’s budget deficit from 1.6 billion to 1.2 billion euros per year. Education Minister Valérie Glatigny has insisted there will be no job losses, citing the teacher shortage as justification for the increased teaching load.

However, Lahaye contests this analysis, arguing the reforms will actually worsen the shortage. The FWB already loses approximately 2,170 full-time equivalent teachers each year, and the increased teaching load is expected to fill a gap of only 1,300 full-time positions.

Legal Challenge Ahead

The union is preparing a potential appeal to the Constitutional Court. Lahaye said the CSC-Enseignement’s law firms are analyzing the décret-programme 2 in detail to identify provisions that could be challenged. He recalled that two previous appeals against the décret-programme 1 were successful, forcing the government to backtrack.

The legal challenge comes amid broader concerns about the vote’s legitimacy. Eight constitutional law professors from Belgian universities sent a letter to Parliament President Benoît Dispa denouncing what they called a “frontal violation” of parliamentary rules, as RTBF reported. They cited the failure to respect the 84-hour minimum delay between committee approval and plenary debate, and the failure to wait for the Council of State’s opinion.

Mobilization Continues

The union front has filed a strike notice covering actions from 17 August to 27 September, with awareness actions beginning this week. A larger-scale action may be organized around the Fête de la communauté française on 27 September.

“The anger hasn’t taken holidays, we’re still here,” Lahaye said, noting that teachers demonstrated even during the summer break. As RTBF reported, hundreds of teachers gathered outside the FWB Parliament in July to express their opposition to the reforms.

The union leader also lamented the state of social dialogue, describing it as having a “flat electroencephalogram” with nothing moving during the summer holidays. He called on the government to reopen communication channels, warning that another three years under current conditions would be “probably untenable.”

A School Year Under Pressure

As La Libre noted, the new school year brings numerous changes beyond the increased teaching load, including a new test in 4th primary, the extension of the common core curriculum to 1st secondary, and the disappearance of Latin from 1st secondary. School directors face a particularly complex start to the year, with some having had to cut their holidays short to prepare.

Lahaye warned that the full impact of the reforms will be felt from January, when the increased teaching load takes full effect. The coming weeks will be critical in determining whether the government and unions can find common ground—or whether Belgium’s education crisis deepens further.