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Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Administration and governance at local and/or institutional level

Belgium - German-Speaking Community

2.Organisation and governance

2.7Administration and governance at local and/or institutional level

Last update: 27 November 2023

Administration and Governance at Local Level

Municipal administrations are exclusively responsible for the schools run by the municipalities.

The municipality, i.e. the local council, can decide as the school authority on the basis of a proposal made by the municipal college:

- which curricula they would like to apply in their schools. However, the framework plans for the primary school and the first stage of the regular secondary school adopted and in force by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community must be taken into account.

- and the methods to be used.

The municipal administration recruits and recruits the staff of the municipal schools according to the rules laid down by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community in a personal statute by decree of 29 March 2004. .

It adopts the necessary infrastructure measures and determines each year the budget available to the community schools for the purchase of educational materials.

Institutional management and control

The participation of the various people involved in education is ensured by the Pedagogical Council, the pupils' representation and the parents' representation.

All those involved, i.e. the pupils and parents, the management, teaching, educational and administrative staff as well as the paramedical and social-psychological staff, thus acquire rights and duties which they exercise within the designated bodies.

The Pedagogical Council

The Pedagogical Council is appointed by the school authority in each individual school. Sometimes there is a Pedagogical Council for several schools or several Pedagogical Councils for one school.

The Pedagogical Council shall be composed:

- the principal(s) of the school,

- the representative of the school authority

- and at least five members of the teaching, educational, paramedical and socio-psychological staff,

- the persons holding a middle management function and who are not elected members of the Pedagogical Council are members of the Pedagogical Council with an advisory vote

If a school has less than five members of the teaching, educational, paramedical and social-psychological staff, all are ex officio members of the Pedagogical Council.

The task of the Pedagogical Council is to advise on the educational work of a school. It does this by formulating proposals on the following topics:

- Acquisition of didactic material,

- Design of the weekly timetable for students and teachers,

- Elaboration and adaptation of the school project,

- Elaboration of the school rules,

- Definition of school structures,

- Definition of teaching methods,

- Organisation of the formative and normative assessment of student performance,

- Planning and implementation of pedagogical project activities,

- Annual planning for staff training and development,

- Organization of the work of the class councils,

- Organisation of the internal evaluation of the school,

- Organization of extracurricular activities,

- Support the external evaluation of the school,

- School development objective and school development work of the school

In addition, the Pedagogical Council has the right to information and consultation in all pedagogical matters and in all matters concerning the organisation of the school.

Student representation

Students participate in school life through elected student representatives.

The headmaster is obliged to make an elected student representation possible. The pupils have the right to information and advice.

The school project of each school contains provisions on the form of participation of the student representation. These regulations are worked out together with the pupils' representatives in the Pedagogical Council and submitted to the school authority for a decision.

Parents' council

School projects and school regulations clarify the form of cooperation between the school and its legal guardians.

The school project of each school contains provisions on the form of participation of the parents' representation. These provisions are drawn up together with the parents' representation in the Pedagogical Council and submitted to the school authority for a decision.