Hasselt (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The 1,500 students at Hasselt school group Sint-Quintinus started their tests one day prior to March 31 because of the upcoming national strike action. The school group takes this approach to stop large numbers of students from being unable to take their Monday exam due to transportation issues.
A total of 1,500 students from the Hasselt school group Sint-Quintinus started their exams one day earlier than planned due to the national strike that occurred on March 31. The educational institution made this choice to prevent disruptions because students could miss upcoming Monday exams if they had no transportation.
The school group director, Rembert Henderix, reported that both parents and students welcomed the early notice regarding the shift. The change impacted two facilities belonging to six educational institutions in this group to allow exams to continue without disruption from the strike.
We gave the 6 schools in our school group 2 choices,
says general director Rembert Hendrix.
On the one hand, they could start the entire exam period 1 day earlier to avoid the strike day. On the other hand, they could continue the exams on Monday, but students who will not make it can catch up on their exam on a special catch-up day.
The agreement was made in the committee of directors of the school group.
We have received positive reactions from parents, precisely because our school boards communicated their choice well in advance. This way you don’t have to switch hastily and there was no problem,
Henderix explains.
The students could also live with the chosen measure.
They knew in advance that the exams would start a day earlier. In the end, the period now simply ends a day earlier, so the effect on the entire series of exams is not too bad.
We are indeed increasingly forced to be creative,
Henderix also notes.
This is strange, because the strike falls within the exam period. On regular strike days we also try to get the students to school with alternatives, but an exam remains something official.
At the same time, the general manager can understand the planned actions.
You hope that it will disrupt your planning as little as possible, especially during an exam period. At the same time, we respect people’s right to strike, so we understand both sides of the story.
Why did Sint-Quintinus school group adjust its exam schedule?
The Sint-Quintinus school group in Hasselt, Belgium, readjusted the exams of their 1,500 students because of the March 31 national strike that caused public transportation and other service interruptions.
The national union actions from the education and aviation sectors forced Brussels, alongside Charleroi airports, to completely shut down their flight departures. Because of the strike happening at the same time as exams, the school group based in Hasselt, which serves six educational institutions and contains approximately 8000 students, put alternate plans into effect.
Among the participating schools, two conducting exams started early and the rest made available a make-up session for absent students. The educational institution made this decision by consulting with directors and provided early alerts to reduce educational interruptions.
Belgium experienced multiple strikes this year particularly a major public sector strike in February which interrupted both education institutions and public transit system. The changes at Sint-Quintinus demonstrate how educational organizations manage educational timing when confronted with labour strikes.
