Chamber wants more time for implementation of NPO 'if necessary'
Schools should be given more time to clear the corona backlog if necessary. The House of Representatives adopted two cautious motions to that effect this afternoon, exactly within the latitude that education minister Arie Slob offered during the debate on the National Education Program last week.
Picture: Livestream Tweede Kamer
Many critics from education, science and politics point It has been the case for some time that two school years are too short to meaningfully spend the 8,5 billion euros from the support programme, especially at a time of increasing teacher shortages. Four years is seen as a reasonable period, a period that the Ministry of Education released at the last minute under pressure from other ministries.
During the House of Representatives debate on primary and secondary education, a majority appeared to have emerged last Monday to give schools more time. But Slob threatened that he would then have to go back to the cabinet and that everything would be unsettled again. None of the parties wanted that much uncertainty for education on their conscience. The minister suggested that his successor in the spring of 2022 have an interim review assess whether the program might need to be adjusted.
Ironic
A motion passed unanimously by the government parties D66 and ChristenUnie is now calling on the cabinet to do exactly that: to consider next spring whether schools should be given three years. Ironically, in the same vote this afternoon, a motion by the CDA and SGP was also adopted to grant schools four years, 'if that proves necessary in the interim'. CDA MP René Peters considered the latter addition necessary to get a majority, he confessed during the debate. He would rather have stretched the term immediately.
It is remarkable that the House of Representatives has also stated that the money should be distributed among the schools in the same way as for the workload resources in primary education. D66 and PvdA received a majority behind their motion, intended to give teachers and school leaders more say in how the billions are spent. from a AOb-survey in primary education pale recently that a large proportion of teachers still indicate that the board has a decisive role. The union also receives signals that some school boards are skimming part of the money from above school.
Measurable Goals
Another D66 motion to 'offer teacher training students as part of the National Education Program the opportunity to tutor children as an elective subject or extra-curricular activity', was passed unanimously. In addition, two motions were passed by the VVD and CDA to 'in consultation with the educational field quickly arrive at clear, measurable goals' for the use of the money from the National Education Program and to ask the Court of Audit to investigate whether the goals have been achieved.
Also check the NPO page.
