Education Council: teacher shortage requires direction from ministers
The Education Council believes that the government should take its responsibility to combat the growing teacher shortage. Current policy is too fragmented and nobody takes control. A national task force with one good approach is therefore necessary.
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Henriëtte Maassen van den Brink writes that today in an urgent letter to the two education ministers Arie Slob (ChristenUnie) and Ingrid van Engelshoven (D66).
Van den Brink calls it 'striking' that there is nothing in the coalition agreement about the approach to teacher shortages in primary, secondary and secondary vocational education. "There is no central direction to solve this urgent problem," said the chairman.
Measures
The Council sees that the government is taking measures in various areas to counteract the shortages, but that is not enough and the measures are too fragmented. In a letter to the House, Minister Slob end of November see what the government is going to do about the shortages: including returning side entrants to the classroom, activating the silent reserve and improving career prospects were mentioned in his letter. 'Despite the many measures, shortages are still dire,' writes Van den Brink. Also, all measures must not lead to a reduction in the quality of education, for example by putting unauthorized people in front of the classroom.
According to the Education Council, a national task force in which the minister of education is in charge is a good solution for the short term. This has already proven itself in other sectors, such as healthcare. In the autumn, the council will issue advice on long-term teacher careers.
Causes
According to the Education Council, the teacher shortage is caused by the status of the teaching profession. It has declined in recent years. Career opportunities and salary also play a role and the high workload in education does not help. The AOb has long warned of the teacher shortage. In particular, a better salary and a reduction in the workload are necessary to make the profession more attractive, is the position of the union.
