Podcast Summary: Les Clés – "Enseignants : les raisons du malaise"

Host: RTBF
Episode Date: February 9, 2026

Overview

This episode of Les Clés delves into the current discontent and malaise affecting teachers in Belgium’s French-speaking regions. It seeks to unpack the causes: from persistent under-recognition and successive reforms to the abrupt imposition of new measures and disruption in the concertation culture established under the Pacte d’Excellence. Guests include journalist Marc Sirlero (RTBF) and Marie Goranson (ULB professor and public management expert), offering both frontline sentiments and analytical perspectives.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Widespread Malaise among Teachers

• Host’s Framing [00:21–01:23]:
  The episode opens noting a palpable gloom (“blues”) across basic and secondary schools. Teachers feel their profession is undervalued and subjected to constant policy changes.
• Teacher Testimonial [01:23–01:47]:

  "Ça me rend triste et en colère qu'on s'attaque tant à ce beau métier qui n'est pas reconnu à sa juste valeur. [...] On a l'impression d'être une variable d'ajustement."
  (Anonymous teacher, 01:23)

2. Recent & Controversial Reforms

• Key Reform – Increased Teaching Hours [01:47–03:28]:
  The government proposes raising required periods in upper secondary from 20 to 22 weekly, justified by Minister Valérie Glatini as aligning with lower secondary teachers and OECD standards (where Belgian upper secondary teachers teach less and earn more).

  “Ce qu'on va mettre en place, c'est une égalité avec les profs du secondaire inférieur [...] on sait qu'on a une situation budgétaire extrêmement compliquée, surtout une pénurie d'enseignants.”
  (Valérie Glatini, 02:53)
  Many teachers and guests argue this is received as a sign of distrust and disregard for their actual workload.

• Concrete Impact on Teachers
  Teachers express that this change cuts into time for student activities and extracurricular support, pushing some to leave the profession or lose hours at their school.

  “Je ne travaille jamais à temps plein, parce que je trouve qu'un temps plein de prof, c'est insurmontable. Donc, rajouter deux heures au travail qu'on a déjà, c'est vraiment une folie.”
  (Marie Goranson, 03:50)

3. The Pile-Up of Non-Consulted Reforms

• Loss of Participatory Reform Process [05:57–06:08, 10:09–13:47]:
  Recent reforms – ending "septième" secondary in vocational streams, raising passing thresholds, modifying the tronc commun (common core), ending guaranteed nominations – are being decided without the prior deep consultation with teachers that characterized the original Pacte d’Excellence process.
• Loss of Nomination Security:
  Many newer teachers are anxious about job stability, now reliant on fixed-term contracts rather than civil service-style nomination.

• “On a envie que ça change et surtout qu'on nous écoute [...]. Il prenait des décisions sans nous concerter.”
  (Marie Goranson & Sarah Poussey, 05:57–06:05)

4. Root Causes: A Long History of Crisis and Budget Cuts

• Historical Context [06:45–09:20]:
  Marc Sirlero situates today’s malaise in decades of cyclical crises, budget restrictions, and an ongoing tension between educational ambition and resource constraints.

  "Depuis 30-40 ans, j'ai l'impression que quand vous rencontrez un enseignant, il se pose beaucoup, beaucoup, beaucoup de questions."
  (Marc Sirlero, 07:16)

5. The End of “Co-construction” in Reforms

• Co-Construction under the Pacte d’Excellence [11:11–14:08]:
  The earlier culture of regular, meaningful consultation ("comité du pacte") with teachers, unions, parents, and school managers is described as having fundamentally changed.

  “Les acteurs de terrain, ils reçoivent des réformes dont ils n'ont pas contribué à la création, au développement. [...] Je pense que ça, c'est un des points fondamentaux qui expliquent le malaise enseignant.”
  (Marie Goranson, 12:58)

6. Complexity, Uncertainty and the Interconnectedness of Reforms

• Reform Fatigue and Practical Concerns [14:51–17:13]:
  Even reforms generally agreed to in principle are overwhelming due to cumulative new administrative requirements, shifting curricula, and the unclear sequencing of changes.

  "C’est un contexte d’effort qu’on a demandé à l’ensemble du monde enseignant, qui l’a pris avec courage. [...] Mais si vous rajoutez à cela la couche d’incertitude, alors là vous obtenez un chaos."
  (Marie Goranson, 17:15)

7. Detailed Analysis: Proposed Changes to Tronc Commun

• Overview of New Measures [20:10–22:32]:
  Sarah Poussey summarizes coming changes:

  • More hours in mathematics, cultural/artistic education, and digital skills (including AI); less Latin
  • Elimination of "années différenciées" after failing the CEB
  • Earlier, more substantial orientation to vocational and professional environments
  • Reintroduction of elective options in 3rd year secondary
  • Extra funding for co-teaching and personalized support

• Philosophical Shift [22:50–23:41]:
  Goranson argues these steps fragment the common path, reintroducing early selection and thus undermining equity goals at the core of the pact.

  “Si vous retriez les élèves à partir de la troisième secondaire et que vous faites des différences [...], alors vraiment vous faites une rupture par rapport à la philosophie du pacte.”
  (Marie Goranson, 23:21)

8. Implementation Challenges & Political Dynamics

• Operational Issues for Schools [24:02–24:41]:
  Schools unequipped for technical education may be unable to provide the new required options, creating logistical complications and more uncertainty.

• Government’s Changing Hands and Philosophy [25:10–26:09]:
  Political divisions within the current governing coalition have led to reversals and delays – with some partners (notably “Les Engagés”) backtracking on their own earlier vision.

  “Sur le tronc commun et le pacte d’excellence, c’est vrai qu’ils donnent l’impression de reculer par rapport à ce qu’ils ont mis, eux, au départ en place avec les socialistes.”
  (Marc Sirlero, 26:07)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On teachers' sense of expendability:
  "On a l'impression d'être une variable d'ajustement."
  (Teacher, 01:46)

• On reform overload:
  “C’est un cocktail un peu explosif.”
  (Marc Sirlero, 09:17)

• On the loss of co-construction:
  “On est revenu à des modalités de mise en œuvre des réformes beaucoup plus classiques, où il y a d'abord le jeu politique, [...] puis seulement avant le passage en Parlement, on fait revenir les acteurs de terrain.”
  (Marie Goranson, 14:08)

• On systemic reform needs:
  “Pour moi, vous avez mis en évidence l'importance, l'ampleur de la réforme. [...] Pour apporter des réponses aux problèmes qui étaient les nôtres d’inéquité, d’inefficacité, [...] il fallait une réforme systémique.”
  (Marie Goranson, 18:08)

• On fragmentation and early selection:
  “Alors vraiment vous faites une rupture par rapport à la philosophie du pacte.”
  (Marie Goranson, 23:21)

• On school infrastructure limits:
  “Dans notre école, on ne sait pas le faire. Il faut des ateliers.”
  (Marc Sirlero, 24:28)

Key Timestamps

• [01:23] – Teacher speaks candidly on undervaluation and frustration
• [02:53] – Minister Glatini justifies higher teaching loads
• [03:50] – Marie Goranson: Full-time teaching is ‘insurmountable’
• [06:45] – Marc Sirlero traces 30+ years of teacher malaise
• [10:09] – Marie Goranson: context of “incertitude”
• [12:58] – Loss of co-construction in reform-making
• [17:15] – Goranson on ‘chaos’ from added uncertainty
• [20:10] – Summary of new tronc commun reforms by Sarah Poussey
• [22:50] – Goranson: philosophy of the pact compromised by new measures
• [24:28] – Infrastructure challenges for school reform (Sirlero)
• [25:10] – Political reversal and tensions within the majority government

Conclusion

This episode provides a nuanced, multi-voiced analysis of why many teachers in francophone Belgium are disheartened: feeling undervalued, subjected to abrupt top-down reform, and deprived of the collaborative spirit of educational change seen in the not-so-distant past. It highlights the complexity and fragility of systemic educational reform – when coherence, consultation, and clarity are lost, even well-intended measures can aggravate despair instead of fostering progress.