Proposal to move prison could resolve European schools crisis

Date: 11/09/1997

By Rory Watson

PLANS to relocate a Belgian high-security sexual offenders' prison could pave the way for a solution to the perennial problem of overcrowding in Brussels' European schools.

The hunt for a less controversial location for the prison started after it emerged that the original site would have been next door to a former Brussels school which the Belgian government wants to use as a temporary annex for several hundred Euro-pupils.

Following vigorous protests by parents, the European schools' governing body, the Conseil Supérieur, forced the Belgian government back to the drawing-board by categorically rejecting its offer to renovate the Berkendael annex.

In a bid to break the deadlock, Belgian Minister for Public Works André Flahaut is urging his justice counterpart Stefaan de Clerck to find new premises for the prison.

Flahaut, who has repeatedly argued that the problem of overcrowding in the two European schools in the Belgian capital can only be solved by using Berkendael, will have an opportunity to brief the Conseil Supérieur on any change in the government's plans at its next meeting in mid-October.

Although moving the prison could reopen negotiations on Berkendael, the proposed annex still faces widespread opposition from many parents. They argue the site is inappropriate, too small and would cause major traffic problems.

But unless a solution emerges quickly, the problem of overcrowding is set to become even more chronic.

Originally designed for up to 1,500 pupils, the Woluwe school now houses 2,900. Its sister premises in Uccle are equally oversubscribed, with 3,700 children, and require urgent renovation. This can only begin when some classes are able to move to new temporary premises.