It will thunder on third Tuesdays
With the two-day strike, education has again shown that it yearns for a perspective to provide good education. Good education for all students.
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
Education wants solutions for the high workload, solutions for the teacher shortage and solutions for low salaries that are not competitive with the market sector. The lack of this endangers the quality of education. We notice this every day. Classes that merge, classes that are sent home, in primary and special education. Subjects in secondary education and MBO that are canceled for weeks or months or that are taught by unauthorized teachers. Crowded lecture halls at colleges and universities.
Education needs people. Cabinet, therefore make working in education attractive again. Of course the AOb that after years of neglect, that cannot be arranged in one day. School teams will have to find temporary solutions. Temporarily. And you can only maintain that if you know that there is a perspective. That there is an awareness in education and politics that the problem must be solved.
The Rutte III cabinet clearly does not want to offer that perspective. So we continue to campaign. Because even though this cabinet seems to be unwilling to do anything more for education, we will keep rubbing in that denial of the problems.
AObchair Eugenie Stolk: 'Our message 'invest in education' will continue to be heard throughout 2020 and 2021.'
Elections
At the same time, from now on we will focus on the 2021 coalition agreement. That seems a long way off, but political parties are already starting to draw up election programs. Party congresses, election campaigns are coming. From now on, the AOb always knocking on the door of the political parties with a clear message: investing in education pays for itself more than once. Not just in economic growth, as economists have shown for years. But also in a non-material sense: good education helps disadvantaged pupils to a better future, reduces inequality. Good education is profitable when it comes to social participation.
The coalition agreement must therefore include a solid education investment program for all sectors. We will work very hard on this up to and including the elections and the formulation of the coalition agreement.
Take action
De AOb will campaign every third Tuesday of the month. Always visible. Often surprising. Together with other unions or educational organizations, but also alone. Sometimes we knock on the door of politicians, then again we are on the street or there is a work stoppage.
We need each other for this, both for smaller and larger actions. The actions cover all educational sectors, from primary education to university. It will thunder on those third Tuesdays, but if necessary also at other times, nationally or regionally. By sector or with the entire education sector together. Our message 'invest in education' will continue throughout 2020 and 2021.
