Flemish School Introduces Mandatory Arabic Course, Sparking Debate

The school’s director, Frank Baeyens, defends an ambitious pedagogical approach: "We don’t want to coddle our students, but to intellectually challenge them."

The goal is not to train Arabic speakers, but to open minds to a different language and culture. "We want to show them that a language can be based on a completely different structure," explains the director. Arabic will complement an already rich linguistic curriculum, including Dutch, French, English, Spanish and German.

This approach is part of a context where linguistic diversity is increasingly valued. However, the director regrets the lack of teachers from immigrant backgrounds: "It would be particularly beneficial to call on an Arab-origin teacher who could serve as a role model for them."

This novelty is part of a reform of secondary education that gives schools greater freedom in the composition of their programs. While Arabic is a first in the Belgian Catholic network, other schools had already experimented with teaching less common languages like Korean or Swedish.