Parents and Teachers Protest Against School Director in Hemiksem

Hemiksem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In Hemiksem, parents and teachers protested against the Het Klaverbos school director. They blame poor leadership for stress, 7 teacher resignations, and demand real action from Mayor Luc Bouckaert.

As VRT News reported, in Hemiksem, a municipality in the province of Antwerp, Belgium,  parents and teachers held a silent protest against the director of the municipal primary school Het Klaverbos. The protest happened on Monday evening, June 30, 2025, in front of the town hall, just before the municipal council meeting began. 

The protestors held signs with messages like “Stop this mismanagement” and “We will not accept this.” They mentioned that they wanted to show how unhappy they are with how things have been going at the school for almost 3 years. A parent named Hakima spoke for the group. She said the school feels like a toxic place and that teachers are scared to speak openly about their problems. 

He said they have approached the municipal council many times in the last 2 years, but they sense that no one is listening. The school belongs to the municipality, but little action has been taken by officials to address the challenges. This has made parents and teachers even more furious than before.

“Four teachers left last year, and we feel like little is being done about it.”

Hakima, parent of children at Het Klaverbos primary school

What is Hemiksem doing to solve the Het Klaverbos crisis?

According to officials, the main problems at Het Klaverbos school are about trust. Teachers and parents don’t trust the school leaders. Teachers say they are bullied and not supported. This causes stress and burnout. Many teachers are leaving. 

Last year, 4 teachers left, and 3 more are leaving this year. Hakima said it’s too hard for teachers to work there now. She said everyone is tired and frustrated. The protest was quiet but clear. They want the school to fix these problems. They want to fix the problems before things get worse for the teachers and the kids’ education.

“We were informed of the tensions last summer and we then appointed an external firm to make a risk analysis of the school,”

Says Mayor Luc Bouckaert (CD&V-Groen-Open VLD).

The town of Hemiksem is trying to fix the problems at Het Klaverbos school. The town looked into the complaints from teachers and parents. The school leaders said they would try to improve things. But the problems didn’t go away. So, the town talked to the teachers to learn more. 

Now, the town wants to help with a special plan. They mentioned that they will bring in someone to help the teachers and leaders work better together. This plan will take 6 months. The town hopes this will make things better at the school. 

The town’s plan isn’t making everyone happy. Parents and teachers don’t think the coaching plan is the right way. Hakima, who speaks for the parents, says the real problem is the school’s director, not the teachers. She believes the teachers are great, and the plan doesn’t fix the main issue. 

The parents want to help the teachers and make sure the kids have a good place to learn. They’re worried about losing more teachers because