Merger should save secondary education in Zeelandic Flanders
Four school boards for secondary education in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen must merge as of 1 August 2018 to save education in the region. Only then can a wide range of courses be maintained at various locations in the region. The government will also have to invest millions more.
Image: Front of final report Just good education!
The task force for secondary education Zeeuws-Vlaanderen registers this the final report Just good education! Collaboration between secondary schools is imperative. 'Otherwise, secondary education will not be possible in the future at a level that parents are used to elsewhere in the Netherlands,' writes Task Force Chair René Smit.
Emergency clock
In August 2017, the four school boards set up the task force to look at how secondary education can be saved. This happened after the Zwin College in Oostburg the alarm clock read. The school could only remain open this school year because the shrinkage of pupils causes financial problems. The Education Inspectorate recently placed the Zwin College under adjusted financial supervision.
Yesterday the task force showed which decisions schools and governments should take in the short term. For example, the four school boards from Terneuzen, Hulst and Oostburg must merge and the two schools in Terneuzen, the Zeldenrust-Steelant College and De Rede, must merge. Then there will be one large Christian secondary school of two thousand students in Terneuzen, where all educational levels from VMBO to VWO are offered. Students can choose from more profiles and subjects. De Rede was struggling with a HAVO and VWO department that was too small.
Taskforce in final report: 'Without far-reaching cooperation between the secondary schools and another organization of education, secondary education will no longer be possible in the future at a level that parents are accustomed to elsewhere in the Netherlands.'
The schools in Hulst and Oostburg have been saved with the merger and can continue to exist at those locations. That is because of the long travel time to Terneuzen a big wish from parents
Millions
The efforts of the schools alone will not be enough. Governments have to invest millions to keep the education on offer comprehensive and 'close to home'. "It's a package deal," according to the task force. It concerns a one-off ten million euros to implement all changes and mergers, the task force calculated, for example, four million euros for a social plan, and in addition, structural financing will be required per year. The report states that the Ministry of Education and the Zeeland-Flemish municipalities are prepared to make agreements about these investments.
Chairman René Smit says in a movie on the website of the task force that the areas will be emptied and the quality of life affected if the schools disappear.
