Belgium/315,925 Brussels pupils receive a little help to finance the start of the new school year
Like every year, the back-to-school bonus arrives in Brussels households. From 25 to 99 euros, or a few dozen euros per child, depending on their age. This annual age supplement (which is the name of the bonus) does not cover the real cost of a new school year, estimated at between 150 and 1000 euros by the Ligue des familles. It is nonetheless welcome in households 3 weeks before the start of the new school year.
At the beginning of August, back-to-school bonuses are being paid to parents. The amount varies according to the child's age:
- 0 to 2 years: €24.87
- 3 to 5 years: €24.87
- 6 to 11 years: €37.30
- 12 to 17 years: €62.17
- 18 to 24 (no higher education): €62.17
- 18 to 24 years (higher education): €99.47
This annual lump sum is intended to help parents with the costs of their children's schooling. It is automatically added to the family allowance for July, paid in August.
Valuable but insufficient, according to the Ligue des Familles
A financial supplement that will help most families prepare for the start of the new school year, but will not compensate for the real costs they have to bear. "Two out of three parents find it difficult to pay for their children's schooling, particularly at the start of the new school year, and even more so if there are several children in the family". At the Ligue des Familles, Merlin Gevers, in charge of studies on school issues, points out that, according to their calculations, back-to-school costs can range from 152 to 300 euros for a primary school child. These costs more than double when moving on to secondary education. A far cry from the 37 to 62 euros granted to children in Brussels. These figures are comparable to the bonuses granted in Wallonia.
Free basic supplies beyond the third year of primary school
"To achieve free schooling, we need to work at source," continues Merlin Gevers. How can we do this? "Firstly, by ensuring that small school supplies are free of charge, as has been the case until now.In other words, the pencil case, the contents of the schoolbag, are paid for by the school, which buys them in bulk". In this way, every pupil has the right material, without discrimination. Under the previous government, there were plans to extend the system to other primary school classes, but the project was halted by the new MR-Les Engagés majority in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The latter has called for a new evaluation of the system.
Source: www.rtbf.be/
