2025
There have been no reforms to date in this area.
2024
There have been no reforms to date in this area.
2023
Decree of 25th March 2023 : designation of gender contact persons in all higher education establishments as well as for Social advancement education : entry into force at the beginning of the 2023/24 academic year
The PCGs of the various institutions work as a network. They share the information at their disposal, exchange best practices and those of which they are aware, and develop joint projects by pooling their resources. The network of PCGs forms the "Gender Contact Persons Conference". In addition, the Advisory Council on Women's Rights was created in 2023 as a result of the merger of the existing Women's Rights Plan Monitoring Committee and the « Alter Égales » Steering Committee. The Council aims to ensure that all French Community policies are developed and implemented with gender equality in mind. It aims to better support and structure the involvement of civil society in the implementation of policies carried out in the French Community, particularly with regard to the implementation of the Women's Rights Plan.
Creation of a formative and non-binding guidance tool : academic year 2023-2024
This formative, non-binding guidance tool, is intended for all young people wishing to enrol in higher education, as well as supporting the professionalisation of those involved in guidance, including teachers. In concrete terms, the tool itself will be developed in 3 areas :
- Interest ;
- motivation ;
- and (non-disciplinary) skills.
At the same time, the work will also target the design of support and training for teachers and guidance staff in the use of the tool. Across the board, the tool and its tests will be monitored, analysed and evaluated as part of a quality approach that will enable the tool's strength, its acceptance by the target audience, its approval by the field and its benefits for young people to be designed and analysed.
The first part of the "Ada-intérêt" (Accompagnement au Développement de ton Avenir) tool was implemented in September 2023. The other 2 components are currently being developed and should be finalised by the end of 2024.
Ada makes it possible to :
- identify the fields of professional activities ;
- explore the professions in these fields of activities ;
- locate the higher education programmes organised in French Community that relate to these occupations.
Two other modules will soon be added to this guidance tool. They will focus on cross-disciplinary skills, study strategies and motivations.
Reform of initial teacher training : 08/2023
Long-awaited, the reform of initial teacher training will take effect from the start of the 2023 academic year. The reform is based on four pillars : extending initial teacher training from 3 to 4 years for future primary and lower secondary school teachers, reinforcing practical experience, co-diplomation between higher education institutions, and mastery of the French language.
In terms of salaries, the decree of 11 April 2014 already provides for a specific salary scale to be awarded to holders of these new masters degrees working in primary or lower secondary education. This new scale would be intermediate between that currently in force for upper secondary teachers and the others. A political decision is expected on this aspect of salary enhancement during the next legislature.
Adjustment of holidays in higher education institutions and Arts Colleges for two weeks for the academic year 2023-2024 : 17/05/2023
In accordance with the request of the ARES (Academy of Research and Higher Education), based on a broad consensus within the higher education institutions and the Arts Colleges, the Government of the French Community decided on 17 May 2023 to modify the dates of two weeks' leave in the higher education institutions and the Arts Colleges for the 2023-2024 academic year. Specifically, one week's leave for members of staff will be aligned with the second week of the compulsory education break, and one week's leave for members of staff will be aligned with the first week of the compulsory education spring break. This change does not affect universities, which are autonomous in the organisation of leave and suspension of learning activities. The aforementioned adjustments will be in force for the 2023-2024 academic year in response to requests from the ARES and stakeholders in the sector, pending a reform of the academic calendar.
Draft Decree relating to the introduction of an entrance examination for the medical and dental courses : 29/09/2022
The Government of the French Community adopted on 29th September 2022, in its last reading, the draft Decree relating to the introduction of an entrance examination for the medical and dental courses from the academic year 2023-2024.
The agreement offers the guarantee to all students, already in the curriculum, to have an INAMI number as well as an objectification of the needs in doctors on the ground of the French Community. The competition will take place in a single session between 16th and 31st August preceding the academic year in question in order to allow students to prepare effectively during the summer, but also to give time to candidates who are not selected to reorient themselves before the start of the academic year. From an organisational point of view, the main principles of the current examination are retained. Thus, the eight subjects on which the examination will be based are the same as those of the current entrance examination, in order to respect the options that may have been taken by students at the end of secondary school wishing to go into the medical or dental sciences.
As it is already the case, candidates will have to choose the university where they will start their studies when they register for the competition. They will be ranked in the order of their marks.
The maximum number of successful non-resident students will be reduced from 30% to 15% in order to guarantee a sufficient supply of health care for the population and to fight possible shortages linked to practitioners who leave the territory after completing their studies and therefore do not contribute to the renewal of the workforce. The text adopted also defines the formula for calculating the number of eligible students.
Validation of the list of authorisations linked to the implementation of the reform of the initial teacher training : 29/09/2022
The Government of the French Community validated, in first reading, the list of authorisations linked to the implementation of the reform of the initial teacher training which will come into force in 2023. As a reminder, future teachers will henceforth be trained via a co-diplomation between University Colleges (Hautes Ecoles), Universities and Arts Colleges. The list of these joint courses, as defined in the decree on the reform of initial teacher training, was approved on 29th September 2022. This agreement marks another important step towards the implementation of the reform, the aim of which is to contribute to the improvement of our education system, which requires a high level of training for future teachers. As already provided for in the decree of February 2019, the training of all core teachers will be extended from 3 to 4 years from the start of the next school year. The text also specifies the areas of cross-cutting skills to be developed, regardless of the course of study, by all future French-speaking teachers, making it possible to meet the needs of the implementation of the Pact for Excellence in Teaching. In addition, students will henceforth be required to complete a long-term placement during the school year. The objective is to offer future teachers a gradual, supervised and accompanied entry into their profession, while in the French Community, nearly 25% of teachers leave the profession at the beginning of their career. This internship - which will count for a significant part of the study credits dedicated to practice - will preferably take place within the same institution. It will allow the student to develop autonomous work and to prepare the beginning of his/her teaching career through hours of practice in the classroom but also, for example, in the framework of collaborative work within the educational team of the placement institution.
E-Landscape : fewer procedures for students and better management of higher education for the actors : 15/09/2022
The Government of the French Community approved, in third and final reading, the draft decree establishing the computerised and centralised data platform "E-Landscape” (“E-Paysage"). It will be operational from the academic year 2023/2024. E-Landscape, launched in February 2016, will allow administrative simplification for students and institutions as well as the collection of objective data on higher education, all in strict compliance with data protection rules.
- Administrative simplification for students and institutions ;
- Objective data on the management of higher education ;
- Enhanced privacy protection ;
- Thanks to E-Landscape, French-speaking higher education is entering the digital age.