On this page

1. Governance

2. Cross-sectoral cooperation

Governance

The Ministry of Education, Children and Youth is responsible for planning and managing school education (general education and vocational education). With the creation of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth in 2013, the institutions of education, child care and youth work were integrated into one ministry aiming at forming a child and youth-centred, integrated system. With this integration, the so-called 'split system', in which child and youth-related institutions fall under the competence of different ministries is transformed into an 'integrated system', which brings advantages for a high-quality and networked education and care offer.

The Ministry of Higher Education and Research  is in charge of higher education.

In some fields of education, governance is ensured by other authorities. Educational measures relating to the integration of foreign adult citizens is organised by the Ministry of Family Affairs, Integration, and the Greater Region and measures and training programmes addressed to unemployed persons are implemented jointly by the Ministry of Labour and Employment through its Agency for the Development of Employment and the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth.

Regarding the general distribution of responsibilities, formal education for young people is managed exclusively on the national level and by the top-level authorities above. However, municipalities and non-profit organisations provide educational courses. These courses mainly fall into the scope of adult general education for which they receive grants from the Service for Adult Education.

The main bodies responsible for designing qualifications are curriculum teams and national commissions (i.e. vocational programme commissions and 'classic' secondary and general secondary education commissions) which are composed of representatives of different ministries, departments and agencies (see: grand-ducal regulation of 30 July 2011).

A curriculum team is associated with a specific profession or group of professions; training centres and schools are equally represented. The Education minister decides on the maximum number of representatives for each team. The curriculum team:

1. Develops and revises programmes for the trades and professions for which it is responsible
2. Ensures consistency between the objectives of school-based and work-based training
3. Provides guidelines and procedures for continuous assessment of learners at school and in the workplace, in cooperation with the respective committees
4. Develops and evaluates the 'integrated project' (projet intégré) which aims to check whether the student has developed the complex competences needed to solve a real or simulated work situation.

National commissions exist for each field of 'classic' and general secondary education; they propose course content, methods and evaluation criteria to the Education minister. The commissions' composition depends on their goal: they can be made up of teachers, a representative of the national general education commissions, a representative of each professional chamber, representatives of the higher council of health professions and employer representatives in the case of health sector professions, employer representatives of education and social institutions, in the case of social sector professions.

Social partners also contribute to the design of qualifications namely in the field of vocational education and training (VET) (INFPC, 2019). The Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce), Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts (Chambre des Métiers) and Chamber of Agriculture (Chambre d'Agriculture) represent employers. The Chamber of Employees (Chambre des Salariés), and Chamber of Civil Servants and Public Employees (Chambre des Fonctionnaires et Employés Publics) which represent wage earners and act as independent policy institutes; they are involved in Luxembourg's legislative procedures and are officially consulted on education matters. They are involved in the development of vocational training which includes: (a) identifying training needs; (b) guidance and information on training; (c) determining the professions or trades offered in VET; (d) training offers; and (e) organising training.

Further bodies are in charge of preparing and performing analyses of the Luxembourgish labour market, which form an important basis for the identification of future demands in the labour market, the relevant skills they require and the design of qualifications (e.g. Permanent Committee of Labour and Employment, Competitiveness Observatory, Business Federation of Luxembourg) (see: 3.3 Skills forecasting).

Since 2022, the Higher Council for National Education is a consultative body that can be consulted by the Ministry or give its own opinions on all matters concerning national education. It is composed of representatives of all the school's partners: (1) partners, students and pupils, (2) teachers, (3) school authorities, (4) representatives of the economic, social, associative and cultural world (Law of 10 June 2002).



The National Observatory for Children, Youth and School Quality (OEJQS; Observatoire national de l'enfance, de la jeunesse et de la qualité scolaire) is also in charge of evaluating and supervising the quality of education within the education system. It is an independent structure in the expert role of providing an objective view of the situation of the school system. The Observatory systemically evaluates the quality of the school system and the implementation of educational policies.

Cross-sectoral cooperation

Cross-sectoral cooperation takes place in the context of the governance described above.