The teachers' union has criticised plans to expand French-language classes in Luxembourg
The SEW/OGBL education workers’ union has criticised Luxembourg’s Minister for Education, Claude Meisch, following the announcement of further expansion of French-language education in secondary schools and vocational education.
In a statement published on 10 June, trade union representatives expressed their dissatisfaction that teaching organisations and other stakeholders in the education system had learnt of the planned changes from the media rather than through prior consultation.
According to SEW/OGBL, decisions that could have a significant impact on the future of the country’s school system should not be taken without consultation with teachers and other stakeholders. The union emphasises that the issue concerns not only the organisation of the teaching process, but also broader topics related to multilingualism, integration and social cohesion.
The organisation recognises the need to adapt education to the linguistic diversity of Luxembourg’s population. However, the trade union believes that the expansion of French-language and other international educational programmes should be considered as part of an overall strategy for the development of the education system, rather than as isolated initiatives.
The statement notes that in recent years the Ministry of Education has consistently launched new initiatives—ranging from state-run European schools to international programmes and reforms relating to language teaching. However, according to SEW/OGBL, there is effectively no public debate on the long-term direction of development for Luxembourg’s schools.
The trade union also warns of the risk of further fragmentation of the education system. In its view, an increase in the number of different language streams could lead to the emergence of parallel educational pathways and a weakening of the common guidelines that currently unite pupils regardless of their background and language of communication.
The organisation believes that the authorities should present a comprehensive vision for the future of education in the country and initiate a broad, democratic consultation process involving teachers, parents, experts and the general public. SEW/OGBL has called on the government to bring the discussion of major educational reforms into the public arena and to abandon the practice of making strategic decisions without broad professional and public dialogue.
