Pupils in secondary education

Children in Flanders are unconditionally entitled to the Groeipakket up to and including the month in which they turn 18. There are no further requirements they need to meet.

Is your child between 18 and 25 years of age and in secondary education? In that case, he/she may still be entitled to a Groeipakket subject to certain conditions.

A pupil in secondary education is entitled to the Groeipakket if he/she:

attends at least 17 teaching hours per week in one or more schools or training centres where the student is doing an apprenticeship or an entrepreneurial pathway;
is enrolled in part-time (special) education or a recognised training course;
is enrolled in special education;
is enrolled in an educational programme outside Belgium that is recognised by the foreign government or that is equivalent thereto.

What is equated with one teaching hour?

a period of 50 minutes
compulsory practical hours (under the supervision of a teacher)
compulsory hours of supervised study spent at the educational establishment (maximum 4 hours per week)
compulsory traineeships for the purposes of obtaining a diploma or certificate

In that case you must provide your Groeipakket payer (benefit disbursement organisation) with proof of illness. Your child is entitled to the Groeipakket until the end of the summer holidays of the following school year if they are absent due to illness.

In that case a medical examination by a doctor of the Flemish Government is required to approve the absence. The result of this medical examination determines whether your child is still entitled to the Groeipakket.

Contact your Groeipakket payer. Your child may still be entitled to the Groeipakket.

In that case your child is still entitled to the Groeipakket if the attending physician issues a certificate saying he/she is unable to attend more classes due to illness.

Please use the Pupil sickness certificate (Attest zieke student.doc) (871 kB).

If your child, after a period of illness, is enrolled for less than 17 hours during a school year, then he/she is entitled to the Groeipakket for the current school year. In that case you will need a certificate from the attending physician stating that your child is unable to enrol for 17 hours per week due to late enrolment.

Please use the Pupil sickness certificate (Attest zieke student.doc) (871 kB).

Subject to certain requirements, your child is free to work during his/her studies whilst continuing to receive a Groeipakket.

Pupils in secondary education retain their entitlement to the Groeipakket during the holiday periods (Christmas holidays, Easter holidays and summer holidays). The summer holidays between two school years may not exceed four months.

If your child stops studying after the end of the school year, they are entitled to the Groeipakket until the end of the summer holidays (until 31 August).

If your child stops studying, he/she may still be entitled to the Groeipakket as a school leaver for another 12 months.

Students in higher education may be entitled to a Groeipakket until the age of 25 subject to certain requirements.

Pupils in secondary education

When are you entitled to the Groeipakket in secondary education?

What happens to the Groeipakket when your child is absent from school due to illness?

Is your child sick for an extended period of time during the school year?

Is your child absent for more than six months due to illness?

Were you unable to enrol your child at the start of a new school year due to illness and your child was not ill during the previous school year?

Is your child enrolled for less than 17 hours a week due to illness?

What happens to the Groeipakket if your child works during his/her studies?

Is your child entitled to the Groeipakket during the holidays?

What happens to the Groeipakket when your child stops studying?

What if your child remains in education?