Education and Training

Special feature

Competence for education in Belgium has been transferred to the communities. Only the determination of the starting and finishing ages for compulsory education and minimum requirements for diploma conferrals are still federal matters.  In the Flemish Community, the Ministry of Education and Training is responsible for all stages of education and training starting from pre-primary education. Childcare is a competence of the Flemish Ministry of Wellbeing, Public Health and Family.

Highlights

The Flemish Government is aware that educational policy should take regard of the highly diverse backgrounds of children and young people, their individual talents, society’s different expectations and the aspirations of the labour market. The Flemish Government aims to make all children and young people stronger and give them every opportunity to develop a dynamic positive learning career. The Flemish Government try to ensure a better alignment with and transition to the labour market by strengthening the system of learning and working. Informed by decreasing test scores on international tests and own national assessment research, the Minister of Education decided to develop Flemish tests. These tests will be gradually introduced in primary and secondary education from the school year 2023-2024 on.