Caroline Désir, the Minister of Francophone Education (PS), appeared on Bel RTL Matin on Tuesday, April 11, as a guest of Antonio Solimando. She spoke about the discussions surrounding the pact of excellence, which some unions have withdrawn from. The CGSP-Enseignement and the SLFP-Enseignement announced their withdrawal from the negotiations on the Pact for Teaching Excellence at the end of March, following the rejection by their affiliates of the amended plan for teacher evaluation put forward by the government of FWB. In the next two weeks, two demonstrations of teachers are planned against this new system of teacher evaluation. When questioned by Antonio Solimando about this situation, the Minister indicated that she was “working on it” and that the negotiation phase had just ended. Caroline Désir claimed that she had tried to take into account as much as possible the opinion of the social partners on the subject and intends to work on the counterpart evaluation of teachers which makes the unions cringe. She also assured that she will come back with proposals to the government but it must still be discussed with the government’s partners. The CSC is still in discussion, but the departure of certain unions from the negotiating table in “every beginning of the process” is not trivial, says Caroline Désir. The French-speaking minister confirms the continuity of the implementation of the common core, which “is not the kind of measures that can be dropped”.
Caroline Désir, Minister of Francophone Education (PS), was Antonio Solimando’s guest in Bel RTL matin this Tuesday, April 11. She mentioned the discussions around the pact of excellence, pointed out by some unions who have also left the discussion table.
At the end of March, the CGSP-Enseignement and the SLFP-Enseignement announced their withdrawal from negotiations on the Pact for teaching excellence, after the rejection by their affiliates of the amended plan for the evaluation of teaching put forward by the government of the FWB. In the next two weeks, two demonstrations of teachers are organized against this new system of evaluation of teachers. Questioned on this subject by Antonio Solimando this Tuesday morning, the Minister of Education of the FWB indicated that she was “We are working on it, the negotiation phase has just ended”.
Caroline Désir assured “tried to take into account as much as possible the opinion of the social partners on the subject” and intends to work on the counterpart evaluation of teachers which makes the unions cringe.“I will come back with proposals to the government, do not count on me to tell you more, it must still be discussed with the government partners”.
The CSC always present
The departure of certain unions from the negotiating table in “every beginning of the process” “is not trivial”, affirms Caroline Désir at the microphone of Bel RTL – although the CSC and affiliates are still in discussion. The Minister regrets this situation in a context where the exchange with all the partners is “important” but she calls that the consultation committee is a “informal body which makes it possible to take the pulse of the social partners on the texts”; in other words, these are only the beginnings of the discussions.
The French-speaking minister confirms the continuity of the implementation of the common core which “is not the kind of measures that can be dropped” and said hear the “fatigue linked to the overload of reforms”.
In conclusion, the negotiations around the Pact for teaching excellence in the French-speaking Community of Belgium have hit a stumbling block with the withdrawal of some unions from the negotiating table. However, Minister of Francophone Education Caroline Désir remains committed to working towards a solution that takes into account the opinions of all social partners. While the implementation of the common core remains a priority, the Minister acknowledges the fatigue linked to the overload of reforms. The situation is ongoing, and it remains to be seen how the negotiations will progress in the coming weeks.