Emergency solution in March: class home every Thursday
At primary school KC De Eik in the Limburg town of Nieuwstadt they send one class home every Thursday this month due to a shortage of teachers. “It's an emergency solution,” says Hannie van Hoorn, director of the primary school. "We do it because there is no other way."
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Every Thursday there is a different class 'turn' to stay at home for a day. The teacher of group 5 has dropped out and the school is unable to find a replacement. “We started with group 8, the next Thursday it was group 7's turn and so on,” says Van Hoorn. Not only group 5 is the victim because of this construction. The principal is also regularly in front of the class to teach, recently when a teacher wanted to go to a wedding.
Extreme
At Kindante, a large school group that includes 38 schools, they suffer from the teacher shortage. "It is the order of the day," said spokesman Maud Golsteyn. Classes are merged, part-timers return to days when they are not working, ibs teach. “Having a class sent home every Thursday is the ultimate,” says Golsteyn. "That decision was discussed jointly with the participation council and only after all other options had been considered."
“That a class is sent home every Thursday is the ultimate,” said Kindante spokesman Maud Golsteyn.
In April the problem was solved at KC De Eik. Golsteyn: “Although nothing is certain, you never know how many sick reports you will receive. In our schools, puzzles are played every day, but merging classes is not ideal either. It creates an enormous workload for the teacher and it does not benefit the quality of education. We are now also asking all our directors if they want to register on the website lerarentekortisnu.nl so that we can gain insight into the problem. ”
Continue to pay
All Kindante schools will also be closed on April 13 during the declared strike in Brabant and Limburg. “We fully support the strike and continue to pay our teachers that day,” says Golsteyn. “It is difficult to find well-qualified personnel and I think that the salary in primary education can play a role in making it more attractive. Now there is a difference with secondary education. ” The AOb and the other educational organizations are calling on the government to release 900 million euros in salaries. Earlier, teachers from the Northern Netherlands and Flevoland, Utrecht and Noord-Holland were already on strike for these requirements.
The Limburg school group is also trying to collaborate with De Laatste Pabo and other school boards in the region. They think about how they can attract teachers and what it takes to get students to choose a teacher training course. Golsteyn: "But for the short term that does not yield enough."
