The 2001 innovative decree that created "bridging classes" - for the education of immigrant children arriving in a French speaking school without speaking French - , did not stick to the current migration and reception reality. No less than eight problems were identified in the sector. The system that will replace it as from September 2012 ("DASPA" for "Dispositif d'Accueil et de Scolarisation des Primo-Arrivants" to be understood as "reception and education system for newcomers") will no longer be limited to minor asylum seekers. It will accompany any minor newcomer, who is legally or not in Belgium for less than one year when he/she can not prove its success or previous attendance in education.

Every child still of compulsory school going age should indeed receive an education suited to his/her needs in accordance with international conventions and national laws in Belgium, said the Minister for Compulsory Education Marie-Dominique Simonet (CDH).

The 65 existing projects will be sustained and four new will emerge in Brussels. In Wallonia, besides schools which are located close to a reception center, those cities with more than 60,000 inhabitants (Charleroi, La Louviere, Liege, Namur, Mons, Tournai and Seraing) can now also create their DASPA.

In small village schools, sometimes facing an influx of foreign newcomers, the reception and education can be done in two stages: first in the reception center, then in the school. The school supervision and teacher training will also be improved.

Source: Belga