MP Fred Keup from the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) recently filed a parliamentary enquiry concerned with the role of disciplinary councils in Luxembourg’s secondary schools.
He wanted to know more about the number of occasions that these councils convened, for what reasons, and which measures were taken. He was further interested in the evolution of the practice in recent years and the number of pupils that had to be expelled. MP Keup also enquired about the role of the appeal commission.
In his response, Minister of Education Claude Meisch noted that 290 disciplinary councils convened in the 2021/2022 academic year. 209 pupils were subsequently expelled from their school.
There are different reasons for a disciplinary council to convene. It can happen if a pupil is caught carrying a weapon, carrying or dealing drugs, grievously insulting another person, inflicting or instigating violence, stealing, or harassing someone physically, psychologically, or sexually.
Furthermore, a council may convene in case of plagiarism, cheating, and if falsified documents are found.
In the last three years, the number of disciplinary councils has experienced an increase: 160 in 2019, 220 in 2020, and 290 in 2022. However, Minister Meisch drew attention to the fact that both in 2020 and in 2021, pupils spent a great amount of time studying from home due to the pandemic.
Last year, 16 appeal commissions were tasked with reviewing decisions taken by disciplinary councils, out of which 13 were confirmed and three annulled.
