Networks
Education is organised through three networks.
First, there are state schools directly provided by the Flemish government, which is called Gemeenschapsonderwijs (literally "community education"), stylised as "GO!", education of the Flemish Community. They are both primary and secondary schools as well as adult education centres. Most secondary schools are commonly named (Koninklijk) Atheneum ("(Royal) Atheneum"), most of which were built in the 1960s during the schoolstrijd ("school struggle") in Belgium. One of the oldest athenea is the Royal Atheneum of Antwerp, which exists since 1808.
Secondly, there are subsidized public schools (officieel gesubsidieerd onderwijs), which are public schools organized by provinces and municipalities. Those provided by the municipalities are coordinated through the Education Secretariat of the Cities and Municipalities of the Flemish Community (Onderwijssecretariaat van de Steden en Gemeenten van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap; OVSG).
Lastly, there are subsidized free schools (vrij gesubsidieerd onderwijs), which is with about 70% of the pupils by far the largest group. They are mainly organized by an organization affiliated to the Catholic Church, organised by the Flemish Secretariat of the Catholic Education (Vlaams Secretariaat van het Katholiek Onderwijs; VKSO). Only eight schools are affiliated to the Protestant Church, so-called "Schools with the Bible". There are also non-denominational free schools, "method schools" using e.g. the Steiner, Freinet or Montessori education method.
Homeschooling is also legal since "learning" is mandatory in Belgium as opposed to attending school. Homeschooling is very rare, but the numbers are rising slowly. For the year 2007—2008 the number of home-schooled children in Flanders rose to 279 in basic education and 504 in secondary education, out of a total of 1.3 million.
Read more about this topic: Gemeenschapsonderwijs
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