AOb has fundamental objections to the use of unauthorized persons
De AOb has objections in principle to the plan of education minister Slob to experiment with unauthorized persons in front of the classroom in primary schools and in special education. "We would rather see a minister with specific ideas to strengthen the profession, rather than weaken it," President Eugenie Stolk wrote to the House of Representatives today.
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
In a policy measure, Slob recently announced that he wants to give schools from the large municipalities of Amsterdam, Almere, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht the opportunity to participate in a trial. The teacher shortage is greatest in these cities and the minister therefore wants to see whether schools can make use of unauthorized persons for the classroom. This concerns a maximum of 22 hours per month, approximately one day per week. The unauthorized persons are not allowed to teach core subjects such as Dutch or arithmetic and the authorized teacher remains responsible for the class.
Other professionals
"Schools can, for example, choose to fill in a whole day in a week differently," the minister writes in his explanation. 'This time can, for example, be filled with activities aimed at creative, social or digital skills that are provided by other professionals.'
AObchairman Eugenie Stolk calls on the minister to dismiss the plan
AObchairman Eugenie Stolk has fundamental objections to the idea. She finds it 'surprising' that the minister is coming up with such a plan precisely at this time. 'Everyone is busy organizing education in Corona time. We think it is inappropriate for the minister to come up with this now. ' Stolk calls on the minister to dismiss the plan. 'It degrades the profession of teacher and entails risks for the quality of education,' writes de AObchairman. Slob's plan also hides the teacher shortage, reducing the need for a sustainable solution.
It degrades the teaching profession and entails risks for the quality of education
Risks
Stolk sees many risks, including the workload that increases when authorized teachers have to supervise an unauthorized colleague. It causes more outages. The AOb is especially concerned about students in special education. 'In addition to being authorized for primary education, specialization for this target group is highly desirable. There is even talk of a separate competence. Unauthorized access to the classroom is a risk to the well-being of this group of students. '
Minister Slob must withdraw the plan, says the AOb, and sit down with different educational parties to find a solution.
Download the letter of AObPresident Eugenie Stolk at the House of Representatives.
