Striking move by Weyts, who appoints chief of staff as head of education inspectorate

On Friday evening, the Flemish government appointed Katrien Bonneux as Inspector General of the Education Inspectorate. Bonneux is the current chief of staff of Flemish Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA).

An external agency had proposed two candidates to the government. He ultimately chose Bonneux. “This is a matter of the right woman in the right place,” Weyts told the Belga news agency. “The Education Inspectorate faces major challenges: helping to reduce the planning burden and improve the quality of education.”

Bonneux has experience within the Flemish educational administration, where she has worked since 2006. It is especially the last step in her career that makes her appointment remarkable: Bonneux has been chief of staff for Weyts since 2021.

It was precisely the latter who had made some remarkable statements about the inspection upon the dismissal of the previous Inspector General Lieven Viaene. Upon his dismissal, Viaene lashed out at Weyts and accused him of silencing the inspection. As far as Weyts is concerned, it was about kicking after a negative evaluation. According to him, the Inspectorate is simply part of the administration. “Civil servants function under political responsibility,” it was said at the time. “When that doesn’t happen, you intervene.”

These were statements that brought him criticism from Lieven Boeve, CEO of Catholic Education Flanders, and the coalition partners. They all accused Weyts of interfering with the autonomy of the Education Inspectorate. An argument that gains strength through the appointment of his chief of staff.