On 17 July, an information meeting for newcomers to teachers took place at Walferdange's Edupôle. The issue of primary school teacher shortages is a longstanding one which the government has also attempted to resolve. Most notably, last year saw a legal framework to allow those educated with non-educational bachelor degrees to teach.
In 2018, around 230 so-called lateral entrants were hired to teach primary school pupils. For the upcoming academic year, a total of 320 new teachers have been recruited. Of that number, 137 have completed the qualification to become a teacher, whereas 183 of the remaining candidates have backgrounds in education, some holding education degrees. The remaining individuals all have degrees in other subjects which have similar transferable skills to those required to teach.
On 2 September, the soon-to-be teachers will return to Walferdange for a two-week crash course at the National Education Training Institute (IFEN), where they will be prepared for the beginning of the school year. As the school year continues, the lateral entrants will take a further 246 hours of training alongside their work, which last year's batch of lateral entrants have already completed.
The majority of those who participated in the programme last year will now be able to join colleagues in the career path of being a public servant in the domain of teaching, and they will be able to take the teachers' examination. If successful, these candidates will then be able to get a fixed post at a primary school. Consequently, the report of the first year of the programme has been a globally positive one.
The one-year programme will continue through to 2023 to make up for short-term teaching shortages.
