Flemish Government Sets Minimum Targets to Enhance Early Education

Brussels (Eurotoday) – Minister Demir announced minimum targets for preschoolers, including vocabulary and listening skills, to address Flemish students’ declining performance.

Flemish Minister of Education Zuhal Demir has announced minimum targets for preschoolers in the Education Committee of the Flemish Parliament, including a rich vocabulary and good listening skills as the targets to be achieved. The results of the new international TIMSS study led to these actions, showing that Flemish pupils in the fourth grade have experienced the largest decline internationally in both mathematics and science since 2015.

To address these issues, as she described them, Minister Demir announced that minimum targets will be set for preschoolers. This measure was already included in the Flemish government agreement, but she has now provided additional clarity to the Education Committee. For example, binding targets will be established for a rich vocabulary and listening skills.

The minister expressed that “some countries that offer two years of preschool education are much further ahead than we are, while Flanders teaches preschoolers for three years. The class council will decide whether the goals have been achieved and, if necessary, set up a trajectory to strengthen the child’s Dutch, or prevent the preschooler from going to primary education.” Moreover, other minimum objectives, such as speaking skills and initial reading and writing skills, are to be pursued.

Further, Demir also hailed England and Ireland as leading countries. England scored very well in the study and managed to reverse a downward trend. “I saw toddlers there learning the entire history of England. To my surprise, those children pick it up. And there too, there is a high level of diversity, certainly in cities like London. We should not be afraid to raise the bar. This increases social mobility and benefits the weaker children.”