AOb-education debate: 'Make a pact against the teacher shortage'
Four political parties - D66, VVD, GroenLinks and the PvdA - indicated during the education debate yesterday evening that they wanted to conclude a pact: a long-term plan that tackles the workload and the teacher shortage and that transcends a number of cabinet periods. How much money they want to put on such a pact and where money should go to remained painfully unclear.
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
Under pressure from the debate leader, the four political parties voted in favor of a pact, a long-term plan in which MPs must look beyond the shadow of the current government period. Paul van Meenen, education spokesperson for cabinet party D66: “I stand for a pact. Those four billion (proposal of the AOb, ed.) we have to look at it. I want a lot more. ” GroenLinks and the PvdA were also positive about a joint long-term plan. The SP has doubts, because "I am afraid that a pact relieves politicians of the responsibility to act now," said MP Peter Kwint.
D66: 'We have to look at those four billion. I want a lot more."
The political education debate that the AOb organized last night in The Hague was well attended and followed. The hall of brasserie Dudok was full with about a hundred people present. The live stream reached thousands more people. The debate can be viewed back – in two parts – via the Facebook page of AOb.
Bickering
Debate leader Lennart Booij kicked off by reminding the cabinet parties of their voting behavior on recent proposals to tackle the teacher shortage. This set the tone for a discussion in which the politicians tried to profile themselves for education, but which also regularly got bogged down in bickering about who had voted for or against a motion and why. And which figures you should take as a starting point.
PVV: "It may be childish, but the PVV was the first to make this proposal"
For example, Booij asked PVV MP and education spokesperson Harmen Beertema why he did not support a PvdA proposal to equalize salaries in primary and secondary education. Beertema: "It may be childish, but the PVV was the first to make this proposal. During Rutte-II, every PVV motion was invariably thrown into the trash by (Lodewijk, ed.) Asscher. This PvdA proposal is therefore tough stolen, and I also saw no good financial cover for their story.”
Disconcerting
In this way, the MPs offered a realistic, but at the same time - in the context of the mounting problems - a shocking glimpse into political reality. For example, Van Meenen (D66) said about possible solutions that cost money: “It is not free grabbing. My colleagues in the opposition can submit a motion every week for more money, but that will not work. It is not possible to intervene in the current budget in the meantime.” To which Kwint (SP) responded: “Any social teacher would disapprove of this explanation. Every year we hold a budget debate, and if we find funding in the budget for an investment in education – for example by lowering corporation tax for companies less than the government is doing now – then money can simply be spent on education.”
The call from the audience and from the people who used the live stream cooperation between the politicians meanwhile became stronger. A secondary school teacher in attendance said irritably, “You are hearing deaf. Stop promoting yourself and winning souls for the next elections. Make a delta plan together, make a pact. You can't just pull teachers out of the hat. ”
Long-term
Despite the fact that the majority of the representatives of the people present voted in favor of a joint pact, the company continued to go round and round. Should we take short-term or long-term measures against the teacher shortage? And: how can we actually control what is happening with educational investments? The lump sum was regularly used as a reason not to be concrete.
SP: 'We don't have the luxury to wait with measures'
This form of financing would make it impossible – even for the Ministry of Education, according to Van Meenen – to check whether invested euros actually reach the classroom. But yes, stated Kwint of the SP: “We don't have the luxury of waiting until we have found a way to get that money back into the classes. If we do nothing now, the shortage will rise to 10 teachers in primary education alone.”
Malieveld
At the end of the debate AObchairman Liesbeth Verheggen know that she was 'not reassured', to say the least, by the statements of the politicians present. She made a few concrete suggestions to the MPs to better monitor investments. For example, by starting with a lump sum distribution in money for personnel and money for equipment. Now it is one big bag of euros that gets an education board.
Verheggen also called on teaching staff from all sectors to participate in the action week from 11 to 15 March. Verheggen: "The Malieveld is full!"
Look for more information about the action week here.
Looking back at the debate? Which can here.
