“The evaluation of teachers already takes place, carried out in a professional manner by the school management,” said Hugo Deckers of the socialist union ACOD. “Students these days are more vocal than before, but that shouldn’t be confused with expertise. Evaluation is also a skill.”

The researchers point out that the system is designed to allow feedback, without necessarily being used as an evaluation tool. It requires users to answer a series of multiple choice questions, varying according to the educational level of the school, and then prepares a feedback report based on their responses.

The system is fully in the hands of teachers, a university spokesman said. “So long as that’s the case, and as long as the teacher is free to use it to get feedback on his lessons, there’s no problem. It’s not the intention that students consider it a right. It’s also not intended for the use of school management.”

Students have reacted more warmly to the device. “It’s a good thing that something like this exists,” said a spokesperson for the Flemish school students organisation VSK. “Students see teachers at work every day. They’re quite capable of speaking out over the way for example a teacher organises his teaching time, or supports the students.”