Teacher shortage in secondary education will rise to 1700 full-time jobs in the coming years

More than a third of the vacancies in secondary education are already considered 'difficult to fill' and in ten years' time there will be a shortage of 1700 extra full-time teachers. This is reported in the Trend Report Labor Market Teachers primary, secondary and secondary vocational education 2020.

Tekst Webredactie - Rob Voorwinden - 10 december 2020 - 4 Minuten om te lezen

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According to the labor market estimate, the increase in shortages in secondary education will increase sharply in the coming years. By 2030, it looks like there will be a shortage of 1700 additional full-time teachers.

'Extra' teachers, because this shortage is in addition to the current shortages. However, its height is unknown, mainly because schools of twine fill the gaps. In secondary education this is mainly done through the deploying unauthorized persons, in primary education in particular by placing board members, internal counselors and teaching assistants in front of the group.

How on earth can you come up with a bold plan if you don't know how high the deficits are?

The real teacher shortage is much greater because of these emergency jumps than from the official figures show. Earlier this year, an emergency plan by the municipality of The Hague showed that the teacher shortage in primary education there was eight times as great as the number of official vacancies.

Refuses

Furthermore, the minister refuses to keep up with the current teacher shortages, despite the fact that the House of Representatives tells him to do so called in a motion. The 'driving force against teacher shortage' Merel van Vroonhoven stated yesterday still in the House of Representatives that she finds it surprising that there are still no figures on the extent of the teacher shortage. "How on earth can you come up with an integrated and thorough plan if you don't know where you're headed?"

Shortage courses

What is clear is that the shortages in secondary education differ greatly per subject. Permanent deficit courses are computer science, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and health care & welfare. Shortages are currently increasing in German, French and classical languages. Highly increasing shortages are also predicted in the technical vocational subjects in VMBO.

In contrast, the shortages are decreasing in Dutch, economics, social studies, English, biology, geography and ckv / art subjects. Subjects with permanently low deficits are history, philosophy and physical education.

Worrying

In general, the situation in secondary education is 'alarming', write ministers Ingrid van Engelshoven and Arie Slob to the House of Representatives. And a solution does not have to be expected for the time being from extra intake in the second-grade teacher training courses. The total intake in second-grade teacher training has actually decreased slightly in recent years.
Lateral intake does not offer any relief either. In the past few years, there have been about 150 side entrants per year in secondary education.

In secondary education, 4 percent of lessons are taught by unauthorized persons. This is at the expense of the quality of education

Teacher shortages in primary education also remain enormous. The side intake is increasing here, but so is the student numbers. In five years' time, an additional shortage of 1439 full-time teachers is officially expected in primary schools, on top of the current situation. This shortage is mainly concentrated in the Randstad and Almere.

The intake into teacher training colleges has increased sharply in recent years, but that applies throughout the Netherlands. And a 'worrying' trend for the Randstad, according to the labor market report, is that the deficit areas are less and less successful in attracting young teachers from other provinces.

Mbo

For MBO, any shortages are difficult to predict because there is a lot of exchange of teachers between the schools and the professional practice. "For the time being, no major problems are expected in MBO," the estimate says. Except perhaps in subjects in which there are already shortages in secondary education and in specific technical subjects that require competition with the market.

Alarming

“The situation in secondary and primary education is and will remain alarming,” says AObdirector Henrik de Moel. “And it is not only a question of numbers, but also of quality. In secondary education, according to the report, about 4 percent of the lessons are currently taught by unauthorized persons. That is at the expense of the quality of education. "

Earlier this year, the minister even announced an emergency measure in primary education to legitimize the use of unauthorized persons. “Something against which the Lower House is opposed protested”, Says De Moel,“ but that will continue as usual. As far as I'm concerned, that is really unacceptable. ”

According to De Moel, the ministers should choose to make the teaching profession more attractive. “A better salary, fewer teaching hours and smaller classes. That is the solution to the shortages, not the use of unauthorized persons. ”