© Sabrina Backes
According to teachers’ union SEW, the measures proposed by the Ministry of Education ahead of the new academic year are too insignificant to bring about real change.
The Syndicate for Education and Science (SEW), which is affiliated with the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL), has voiced its dismay with the measures announced ahead of the new school year. The teachers’ union believes that they are not decisive enough to counteract social inequalities, which they think have grown significantly in recent years. Children with a migration background and those from a socially weak environment are said to be affected in particular.
SEW further noted that for many pupils, their future is more or less set once they make it to Cycle 3 (grades three and four). The reforms that the Ministry of Education announced ahead of the new academic year, including the homework support, are said to be too insignificant to allow pupils to climb the proverbial social ladder.
Spokeswoman Joëlle Damé elaborated: “Unfortunately, the much-lauded homework support is more of an overseen study session, which already existed many years ago. … We doubt that this initiative will bring about a noticeable effect. Real private lessons remain a privilege that not everybody can afford.”
SEW also criticised the new option of learning to read and write in French rather than German, noting that the project is not planned acutely enough to be implemented already: “This is an important step that needs a tried and tested method. It is a difficult debate since the German language holds the advantage of being phonetically accurate. French, on the other hand, according to the renowned neurologist Stanislas Dehaene, is the second-worst language for learning how to read and write.”
The teachers’ union also addressed secondary education and criticised the orientation procedure that pupils undergo. Michel Reuter noted: “With all the different formats, levels, and sections that we have, one could easily think that schools are in direct competition with one another. It also makes it difficult for children and parents to make sense of the offer. We therefore advocate for a more transparent school report so that pupils know where they are heading and which results they need to get there.”
In general, teachers’ union SEW argues that teaching staff should be consulted by the Ministry in such important matters.