Teach children English from primary school, urges Belgian politician

Gwendolyn Rutten, leader of the Flemish liberal party Open VLD, wants primary schools in Flanders to introduce the English language into their curriculum. "High school graduates have insufficient foreign language skills," she told VTM News, according to Knack.

Rutten wants to promote multilingualism among students from a younger age. "I notice that there are too many students with a high school diploma who have yet to master a second language," she says. The politician is therefore looking to solve the problem by starting foreign language education at the primary school level.

Rutten stresses that her goal is not to change anything about the national languages that must be spoken in school. "But why not start teaching students English from as early as primary school? That is the language of the younger generation; They are exposed to English every day, on television and in music."