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www.tijd.be

Summary:

  • The article reports that Flanders has the highest share in Europe of pupils in special education and that the number has risen sharply in recent years (over 56,000 pupils last school year, up ~14% versus five years earlier).
  • That growth has created long waiting lists, long bus rides, regional shortages (projected shortages by 2030–31 of ~7% in special primary and >15% in special secondary) and heavy pressure on ordinary schools and pupil guidance centres.
  • The Matadi school in Leuven combines regular and special education on one campus (since 2022), merging staff and resources to teach many lessons together while sometimes grouping pupils by need for targeted support (e.g., extra help or challenge). The school uses strong, consistent structure and a multidisciplinary team (teachers, care staff, speech therapists, physiotherapists, etc.).
  • Matadi’s director argues this model keeps more children in regular education, lowers pressure on special education and lets children attend school in their own neighbourhood, while genuinely special-needs pupils still have access to dedicated places.
  • Flemish education minister Zuhal Demir supports a shift toward “schools for everyone” that blur the boundary between regular and special education; 20 pioneer schools will start next September to test the approach.
  • Experts say the present system is unsustainable: merely adding places or schools won’t solve underlying problems caused by inconsistent policy over 15+ years (including the failed M-decree), broader diagnostic criteria, rising referrals, and schools’ uncertainty in handling behavioural/language issues.
  • A committee including education psychologist Wim Van den Broeck notes about one-third of pupils in regular schools have some learning problem and urges more general, classroom-level solutions so only pupils with heavier needs follow specialised trajectories.
  • Stakeholders are cautiously optimistic: the Matadi example suggests the model could substantially reduce special-education numbers (advocates aim to halve the current share), but implementing it widely will be practically challenging.