Special education is also protesting against acute shortages: “I have never seen my colleagues so desperate” (Antwerp)

While the entire education sector is protesting in the center of Antwerp, May 7 has also been on the table as a protest day in special education for a long time. Special Primary Education Het Sas called on all schools in Flanders to take action against the dire amount of resources they receive.

“Many schools have dropped out due to the large education demonstration. Two schools in West Flanders and Katrinahof in the Van Schoonbekestraat in the heart of Antwerp still participated in our campaign,” says director Hans Téblick.

Protest run

A procession of 150 students in wheelchairs, on special bicycles or hand in hand with a parent or teacher, circle the parking lot of the Rozemaai campus. Colorful but compelling banners decorate the course. “My employees were clear. Just like with the farmers, they had had enough and it was time to take action,” emphasizes director Hans. The resources for special education have remained unchanged since 1986.

Patrick Laforce is a music education teacher at the school, helped organize the action and is also active within the union. “It hasn’t been indexed for years and everything has become very expensive. In 1997, a savings rule decided that we would only receive 94 percent of our resources. Since 2016, regular education has been at 100 percent again, but people are silent about us in all languages.”

Burnt-out

“In all the years that I have worked at this school, I have never seen my colleagues so desperate. They care deeply about the children, but are really at a loss.” There is already an acute shortage, but Patrick fears that teachers will eventually drop out in this way. “I really wonder how the minister wants to make the profession attractive, how do you attract new people to this sector?”

There are no politicians to be seen at the march, they give priority to the protest march. Yet the school wants their cry to be heard throughout the highest ranks. “We really want to put the file on the desk of the next minister,” says director Hans.

Measurement

During the run, a healthcare professional is also busy administering all medication. “We fully support inclusion and that children with care needs are also included in regular education. This is happening more and more, but as a result the number of children with a greater need for care has only increased,” Patrick explains.

In many cases, this greater demand for care means that these children need even more resources. According to the director, what each child needs individually should be determined by an objective measurement from Flanders.

“We now set up a measurement ourselves to map out how many resources we need per child: from medication to nutrition. For example, many children here cannot eat independently, which means that we need at least fifty caregivers during the lunch break.”

In addition, things are not going smoothly in regular education, Patrick notes. “A teacher who is already responsible for twenty children and who then has to take on another four children with care needs, cannot cope either. Often a completely different approach is required for all four.”

Parents

There are also many parents present at the sponsored run. “In the eight years that Aster has been going to school here, we have seen things change enormously. In the past, they often went on outings and forest classes,” says father Nico. “We try to help in every little way. If I come here with a roll of construction paper, they literally fly around my neck.”

In addition to the expensive materials that the school urgently needs and the helping hands, they also want to be able to break outside the school walls more often. “It is important for the children to come into contact with the world, but it is also important for the world to come into contact with the children,” adds director Hans.