OECD: Low salary makes working in education unattractive

Tekst Robert Sikkes - Redactie Onderwijsblad - 12 september 2017 - 3 Minuten om te lezen

'Teachers are the backbone of the educational system, yet the profession is unattractive to young people', is the hard conclusion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), published today. investigation report Education at a Glance 2017.

In this, the OECD compares the affiliated countries with each other. The common thread in the report is the low pay of teachers, while many older people are about to retire. Teachers' salaries are low compared to other higher educated people. That is the core problem of getting young people to teach, 'is the main message of the OECD.

This point is certainly something that applies to the Netherlands, where above average less is paid than in other countries. Although absolute wages in education are high, Dutch teachers earn considerably less than other highly educated people, the OECD notes. In primary education, the salary difference after fifteen years of work is 30 percent, while in secondary education 12 percent less is earned.

Wider salary gap for teachers

Source: Education at a glance 2017, OECD

Add to this the fact that on average Dutch education is aging more, there are many more people over XNUMX working in primary and secondary education than in other countries. In the separate country report, the OECD therefore warns: 'The Netherlands has an enormous challenge in replacing the knowledge and skills of all those teachers who are retiring in the coming years.'

The Netherlands spends a total of 5,4 percent of its wealth – gross domestic product (GDP) – on education, which is above the OECD average of 5,2 percent. But that does not apply to all sectors. For example, expenditure on primary education is lower, whichever way you look at it. As a share of wealth, costs per pupil or as a percentage of government expenditure, primary education continues to lag behind, while expenditure on secondary and higher education is slightly higher than average each year.

The Netherlands belongs to the group of countries where classes in primary education became fuller between 2005 and 2015. Here, group size rose 6 percent, while it declined 6 percent across the OECD zone and remained stable in Europe. Moreover, the classes in the Netherlands are already larger than in comparable countries. The most commonly used measure for this is the student-teacher ratio, or the number of students per full-time teacher. These numbers are above average compared to the OECD countries and a little higher compared to the countries in the European Union.

Classes fuller

Source: Education at a glance 2017, OECD

In addition, Dutch teachers give considerably more lessons per year than their OECD colleagues. This leaves less time for further training or innovation in education. The fuller classes and the high number of lessons per week mean that the workload in the Netherlands is high. The OECD figures are based on the formal collective labor agreement figures for the teaching week and the working week of teachers, while the workload survey of the AOb shows that there is considerable overtime in education.

Lessons per year higher

Source: Education at a glance 2017, OECD

The Oeso has positive words for Dutch secondary vocational education. Success rates are significantly higher than in other countries and the transition to a job is relatively smooth. The OECD is more gloomy about the very low percentage of young people who choose an exact study at a college or university. That is only 18 percent, while the average in the OECD countries is 28 percent. Especially a pity because the career prospects with those studies are very good.