Teacher shortage continues to grow in major cities
Teacher shortages in primary education in the major cities have again increased. The deficit is now on average at 14,3 percent. In schools where many students are at high risk of disadvantage, the shortages are almost twice as large as elsewhere.
Picture: Type tank
This is apparent from the latest figures that outgoing education minister Arie Slob sent the House yesterday. At 16,6 and 16,4 percent, the shortages are greatest in special primary education and special secondary education. The so-called G5 of large cities includes Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Almere. Almere currently has the largest deficit with 16,8 percent. The shortage of the large cities is smallest in Utrecht at 7,9 percent.
In the major cities, the primary education deficit is almost twice as high as in the rest of the country (14,3 percent versus 8 percent). It is also striking that four in ten schools outside the G5 indicate that they are not affected by the shortage, and that this is the case for one in ten schools within the major cities. In the south of North Holland and in the south of South Holland there are also major shortages outside the major cities. There are shortages in the east of the country, but much less than in the west.
Worrying and urgent
slob writes in his letter to the House that the current teacher shortage throughout the Netherlands will amount to 9100 full-time jobs. "The shortages in education are worrisome and urgent," the minister told the House. 'That is why, in 2021, we have also focused on actions and measures that ensure sufficient and well-trained staff.'
The shortages in education are worrying and urgent
Still, the latest figures show that the deficits are increasing, and the money for the National Education Program is even more than that. Boards would like to deploy extra staff to eliminate learning disadvantages, but hardly find any staff. The AOb recently posted on this too pointed out. 'In the G5, about 26 percent of the desired extra effort has not been completed, outside the G5 this is about 11 percent,' says Slob.
Unauthorized and side entry
Schools solve the shortages by putting unauthorized people in front of the class, researchers from Centerdata report. In addition to unauthorized persons, lateral entrants are an important group for combating the shortages. This year 1891 grant applications were awarded for training lateral entrants, about a hundred more than last year. Especially in secondary education, lateral entrants are on the rise: there were 189 applications in 2019 and 330 this year.
secondary education and secondary vocational education
The teacher shortage is not limited to primary education. The shortage is also present in secondary schools, although it is less visible. Slob expects a shortage of 2600 full-time jobs in 2026. It is especially difficult to find staff for the subjects French, physics, mathematics and Dutch. Subjects are temporarily dropped, or students receive fewer hours of lessons in a subject. Sometimes schools completely remove the subject.
In MBO, the peak in demand for teachers is expected next year. This will mainly manifest itself in practical subjects and technical subjects.
During the presentation of the coalition agreement informer Wouter Koolmees said that the teacher shortage will not be solved within one cabinet term. AObchairman Tamar van Gelder called this 'a shocking lack of ambition.' The AOb sees that the quality of education is coming under pressure as a result of teacher shortages and that a solution to this problem requires major structural investments.
