The National Teacher’s Union (SNE) has criticised the Ministry of Education’s action plan for inclusive education in primary schools. While SNE President Patrick Remakel welcomes several measures introduced by the plan, he has also voiced clear reservations.
At the end of March, the Ministry of Education presented a new action plan aimed at strengthening inclusion in primary education and improving support for pupils with special educational needs. Several demands the SNE had previously made to the ministry have now been incorporated into the plan. These include a provision requiring that any staff member from the Regional Multidisciplinary Support Teams (ESEB) working with a child must be replaced in the event of illness.
Remakel welcomed that Education Minister Claude Meisch is now committing to this approach, describing it as “genuinely a good thing”. The SNE also appreciates that staff members can work with children effectively and without administrative hurdles, such as the need to obtain parental consent.
The phrase “without administrative hurdles” is key, as it leads directly to the SNE’s main criticism. The issue concerns the deployment of I-EBS and A-EBS staff – specialist teaching staff and daily life assistants. Until now, these resources could be allocated directly to a child.
Under the new plan, however, the procedure has become more complicated. Specifically, local committees must now be set up and meet twice a month to make a proposal, which is then forwarded to the headteacher. “This results in a considerable waste of time – it is an administrative burden”, Remakel said.
Another key concern for the SNE is the lack of resources. According to Remakel, simply asking for more funding is not an option. Instead, he stressed the need to analyse available resources: “Who is working with the child, and who is not working with the child? We cannot afford to waste resources that are not working with the child.”
Nevertheless, more resources are clearly needed in cycle 1. From the SNE’s perspective, every class should have a teacher and a teaching assistant present at all times, every day. According to the teachers’ union, this is currently not the case and is insufficient.
