Teacher shortage puts the improvement of educational quality under pressure
The work pressure, high absenteeism and unfilled vacancies make it difficult for schools to work on quality improvement. The Education Inspectorate reports this in 'The State of Education.' AObchairman Liesbeth Verheggen therefore wants the shortage to be tackled quickly, including a substantial salary increase in primary education.
Picture: Fred van Diem
The average results of primary school pupils have declined over the past twenty years, as the Education Inspectorate notes in its annual report 'The State of Education.'
Chairman Liesbeth Verheggen of de Algemene Onderwijsbond is not surprised about the declining quality of education. "The teacher shortage is increasing, and an increasing workload is at the expense of the quality of education."
Series of problems
Inspector General Monique Vogelzang does not see a one-to-one relationship between the teacher shortage now and the declining educational performance for twenty years. But the teacher shortage in recent years is certainly not helping to halt that trend. On the contrary. When there is a vacancy at a school or when teachers become ill, a series of problems arise, according to the inspectors. Classes drop out or colleagues drop in, school leaders are in a hurry looking for candidates, even those who do not meet the requirements. 'There is hardly any time for quality improvement at these schools,' writes the Education Inspectorate. 'The team is mainly focused on keeping the school or study program running.'
'The team is mainly focused on keeping the school or study program running,' writes the Education Inspectorate in the report The State of Education on the teacher shortage.
The most problematic, according to Volgelzang, is that the schools that fail to find enough people often also have the most vulnerable students. The Inspectorate also sees bottlenecks with work pressure, especially in the case of appropriate education. This is not only caused by the teacher shortage, but also by a larger group of children in need of extra support, by shrinkage and, for example, by articulate parents. What bothers her is that we could all see the teacher shortage coming. 'And yet it is not possible to respond adequately. But I also see boards looking for solutions across their region: boards with shortages in Utrecht that collaborate with boards with surpluses in Limburg.'
The workload is further increased because employers increasingly hire staff on a temporary or flexible basis. 'It may be the case that many temporary and flexible contracted staff will increase the workload of current staff and reduce the financial scope of boards,' writes the Education Inspectorate.
Less flex
According to Verheggen van de, the first steps to halt the decline in the quality of education AOb therefore a reduction in flex work and combating teacher shortages.
The first steps to halt the decline in education quality are according to AObchair Liesbeth Verheggen a reduction in flexible work and combating teacher shortages.
The latter requires a substantial increase in salaries, says Verheggen. "Certainly in primary education: an investment of 900 million euros is required to bring salaries to the same level as in secondary education. Without such an investment, the teaching profession will not be attractive, and graduates would rather choose a job in without such an investment, the teacher shortage will continue and the government will neglect its constitutional task of guaranteeing good education, and the students will be the victims of this, as is now very clear from 'The State of Education'. weakest students first."
Also read the news items: 'Educational performance is falling, segregation is growing' en 'Diversity of final tests makes school advice incomparable' containing the conclusions from the report of the Education Inspectorate.
