Our European Schools face a major challenge in recruiting and retaining teachers. Locally recruited teachers are paid much less and have more precarious contracts than they would in the Luxembourg state school system, which is expanding its offer of education in English, French and German. Both they and seconded teachers struggle with the high cost of living in Luxembourg.
Next week the Board of Governors of the European Schools will vote on measures to address these problems but it is far from clear that they will support them. Your Parents’ Association has been working hard to ensure that they do – and your help could still make a difference.
- The Luxembourg parents’ petition in support of the measures will close at 10:00 tomorrow Friday 5 April. If you have not already done so, you can sign the petition here.
- Through Interparents we have written to all members of the Board of Governors to ensure that they understand the problem. You can read the letter here.
- The four Parents’ Associations most affected (Luxembourg 1 and 2, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe) have written to the education ministers of all Member States in their respective languages to emphasise how this problem impacts the citizens of their countries and to ask for their support at the Board of Governors. You can read the letter here.
- Our management committee and dedicated taskforce are working closely and actively with the Office of the Secretary General of the European Schools and key stakeholders such as the European Commission, European Investment Bank and other EU institutions.
In the run-up to the Board of Governors meeting next week, every little gesture of support for these measures – e.g. signing the petition, forwarding the letters – will be more than welcome.