While for some students, this merely means that they need to revise certain texts or complete exercises at home, students enrolled in sections with a more practical focus often experience greater difficulties.
Lycée Technique du Centre in Luxembourg City offers a number of sections which are heavily focussed on practical experience. Students in their second-to-last year of a technician class with a focus on car mechatronics, for instance, usually spend 12 hours per week in a workshop. Due to the A/B system, however, they are now losing half of that time.
Bryan Gonçalves, a student in one of these classes, says that “it is a shame” because the students learn a lot during these practical lessons.
However, some efforts have been made in order to allow the students to at least somewhat compensate for the lost lessons. They have received a special programme, which allows them to virtually work with the cars.
Marco Moes, one of the teachers for this curriculum, explains that the programme basically simulates faults within the car. The students then virtually hook up a diagnosis device and try to assess the error code by using measuring techniques.
While the digital platform is a nice addition, it is of course unable to completely replace the experience the students gain when they work with actual cars. After graduating, the students have to make up for their lost lessons by working in a real-life business.
The Ministry of Education is well-aware of this issue. In cooperation with the school administrations, the authorities assess which classes need the practical lessons most. In general, students in a professional aptitude diploma curriculum are given priority over those in a technical stream since they already only go to school once a week. Véronique Schaber from the Ministry of Education explains that together with the task forces in charge of the professional curriculums, they are assessing what the students definitely need to know, and what can potentially be set aside.
