Make sure the money reaches its target!

In 2002 the Flemish government tried to address the high social inequality in education. The government chose to implement a policy specifically targeting students with a disadvantaged background by identifying them through a number of ‘equal education indicators’. Figures of the policy in primary education show however that a large majority of disadvantaged students was never reached by the funding, while many of the students that did receive support through the policy never qualified as disadvantaged students.

In the school year 2003-2004 only 16% of the disadvantaged students in primary schools that received the funding were reached by a ‘equal opportunity teacher’. When looking at the group of student that did receive help from these teachers, we see that 62% of them never qualified as a disadvantaged student. 

The government chose to implement a policy specifically targeting students with a disadvantaged background by identifying them through a number of ‘equal education indicators’. She should’ve followed through and make sure that the funds effectively reached the targeted students, through better monitoring, supervision and remediation, always with the target group in mind.