machine translated highlights:

Foreign languages ​​are dying in adult education after price increases.

Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and even English: modern foreign languages ​​are experiencing a huge decline after the substantial price increase in adult education. (…)

Forty, sixty, or even ninety percent fewer enrollments. The new enrollment figures at adult education centers (CVOs) are deeply in the red for various programs. (…) The biggest hits are those programs that Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) labeled "hobby programs" in June. In most cases, the price for a module is rising from €180 to €480. For some courses, the annual price is as much as €960, excluding course materials. Moreover, many preferential rates, such as those for people on low incomes, are disappearing. The programs hardest hit are modern foreign languages, according to the OVSG. "In every adult education center that teaches foreign languages, there's a decline of up to 50 percent in the number of students."(…)

At CVO Semper, a major provider in Brussels and the surrounding area, they're seeing all language subjects suffer.(…) "Enrollment in the English starter course has plummeted by 94 percent, and in French, there's a 50 percent drop."(…) "Especially in Brussels—such a multilingual environment—I don't understand why the policy is so inconsistent and why even French, German, or English aren't given more opportunities." She sees students moving on to the French-language system, where there has been no price increase. In many other cases, they drop out. "For example, we had a lot of Ukrainians in the English modules. But it's simply too expensive for them." (…)

Many teachers are also being reoriented, but that has its limits. "The most worrying thing is that centers are already finding that teachers are resigning and leaving education." (…)

"The management is being creative. They chose to maintain small (loss-making) class sizes and programs for the time being, but they realize that this is not sustainable in the long term," (…) "The real consequences of the higher fees will only become clear from next school year onward." The OVSG hopes that Demir will still intervene. "We are asking the minister to reconsider the fee increase for the foreign languages ​​French, English, and German. Language skills are important for career opportunities. Belgium is an export country, and you definitely need these languages ​​for that," says Cools. (…)

by ToyoMojito

7 comments

  1. This is simply beyond stupid. Our knowledge of several languages is one of the things that actually impresses people abroad and effectively gives us an edge in the international economy. That even learning English or one of our national languages is considered a useless hobby, is truly mind boggling.

  2. >Foreign languages ​​are dying in adult education

    >Machine translation

    I’m going to have to ask Alanis Morrisette about this

  3. My favorite part of this debacle is the estimated savings were based on people paying the new prices, so in typical NVA fashion they decimated adult education for no realistic gain.

  5. To be fair, it is not up to society to sponsor someone’s hobby of learning a foreign language. Very few of these adults learning an extra language do it for the benefit of their employment. 

  6. *Language skills are important for career opportunities.* 

    Maybe the solution is for these schools to showcase the impact of these educations, that their students have broader access and actually profit, and that these aren’t hobby programs. But then they would need to have proof for their statements. People learning Swedish etc in evening programs are way more likely to do so for their trip to Sweden.

  7. What I see is clear discrimination against the national language, French. French is not a hobby/foreign language; it is an official language. The fact that French prices have been increased shows their intent to undermine people who would prefer to learn the “Other” national language.

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