AOb: 'Slob has to come up with more money'
Schools have started, despite the teacher shortage. Although there are no hard figures about the current shortage, a tour of the fields showed that schools solve the shortage with art and flying. Kindergarten classes are divided, educational assistants stand in front of the group, trainees run a class independently. Schools are doing their utmost, but everything shows that the stretch is gone.
Education minister Arie Slob (Christian Union) feels the social discontent growing and sent yesterday a letter to the House of Representatives about the teacher shortage. The letter is accompanied by a great interview in de Volkskrant this morning.
AObChairman Liesbeth Verheggen responds: “The minister's words are not reassuring. He is concerned about the big cities, but there is no money. There should be no flu, because then things will go wrong, but money is not needed. Slob calls himself a bacon buyer because there was extra money when he took office, but someone with such great concerns is really not a bacon buyer. ”
Illusion
Verheggen is very dissatisfied with the approach taken in this last letter to Parliament. “A minister who is concerned about flu among teachers, in a country where flu flares up every year, has a real problem. For years, anyone with an understanding of education has been warning of the shortage. The teacher shortage is here now. Tempting teachers to work more, making classes even bigger, transferring powers to trainees, it doesn't solve anything, and is not good for the teachers or the children who are taught. It is an illusion to think that teachers who have left education will return under these circumstances. The stress will only increase, there will be more dropouts and the carefully taped emergency bandages will fall apart with the first flu wave. ”
AObchairperson Liesbeth Verheggen: 'Tempting teachers to work more, making classes even bigger, transferring powers to trainees, it all solves nothing'
A simple solution is according to the AObchairman is not available in the short term, but it seems clear to her that this is not enough. "Money is simply needed, and as quickly as possible. A new collective labor agreement has been concluded for a year with the call: 'This is not enough!' "To make work attractive again, teachers need to earn better and experience less stress. To bring salaries in primary education on par with salaries in secondary education, another 600 million euros is needed."
More money
It is essential that a start is made on bridging this gap in the next budget. Verheggen: "On September 12 we go strike in South Holland and Zeeland, a week before Prinsjesdag. The minister really has to come up with more money. When he starts talking about his concerns again without coming up with extra money, he loses his credibility. ”
And where the money according to the AObchairman to come from? “More money for education is a choice that this government must want to make. You cannot say that there is no money and in the meantime abolish dividend tax for companies. Not doing so saves a lot of money, at least 1,4 billion euros. Compared to this, the extra money for education is still modest. We invest in the future through education."
