King Philippe of the Belgians held a virtual meeting with two school principals to assess the situation in the academic world following almost two full years of the pandemic.
His Majesty spoke with Ms Colla, a school principal in the French-speaking part of Belgium, and Mr Peirelinck, from the Flemish areas of the country.
During the call, the King and the school directors discussed the extraordinary efforts that the school system has had to make in order to accommodate students and their needs while also providing health safety and quality education.
The King was said to be particularly concerned about the impact remote learning is having on children and was asking questions about how students of various age groups have coped with the situation.
Another topic that was analysed was education disparity. This pandemic has highlighted how much the school system acts as an equaliser between children, giving all of the tools to put them on the same level as their peers, regardless of their background.
However, remote learning has cancelled that equality, forcing those less fortunate to be at a disadvantage when it comes to taking advantage of the learning experience.
King Philippe knows first hand what the challenge looks like, as he and Queen Mathilde share four children, all of whom are still in their education journeys.
Princess Elisabeth is in the United Kingdom, where she is a student of history and politics at Lincoln College, Oxford University.
Prince Gabriel is enrolled in a pre-university course of STEM disciplines at The National Mathematics and Science College in Warwickshire, United Kingdom. He has selected mathematics, further mathematics and physics as his majors.
Prince Emmanuel transferred to the International School of Brussels in August of 2020. The school is known for offering its curriculum in English, and the Prince’s older brother attended the same institution from 2019 to 2021.
Princess Eléonore has been attending secondary school at Heilig Hart College since September of 2020.
