Roc Nijmegen made mistakes when the teacher was suspended
Roc Nijmegen dropped stitches when the institution suspended teacher Paula van Manen in December last year. That is the opinion of the national MBO disputes committee. It is now clear that the ROC board is aiming for her dismissal.
Image: Cut-out book
Last autumn, the teacher published a critical book about a new educational concept for her study program. In "When will we get lessons again?" she describes the struggle with the introduction of personalized education in her pedagogical training. In the book the name of the roc is not mentioned and the names of colleagues are omitted. That it concerns Roc Nijmegen, came out then The Gelderlander half January reported that Van Manen has been for a month and a half suspended sat at home.
The roc board stated on the intranet at the time that the publication had created 'fear'. A number of teachers would have been recognized and addressed about the book. Colleagues felt attacked in the back drew NRC is spoken by chairman of the board Peter van Mulkom.
Harmed
Van Manen was initially suspended for a period of four weeks at the beginning of December. In addition, the board has failed, so judged the National MBO Appeals Committee recently. The employer gave the impression that with the formal decision she would await the written response from the teacher, but did not. The committee states that the employer 'harmed the teacher in her interest to be able to properly defend himself against a proposed suspension.' The roc also went wrong with the extension of the suspension in that same month, according to the committee.
The committee states that the employer 'has harmed the lecturer in its interest to be able to properly defend itself against a proposed suspension'
In the third suspension, for a period of three months, the objection was declared unfounded. The ROC board appealed to an article in the collective labor agreement that allows suspension for a longer period of time if this is 'necessary in the interest of the institution'. “The committee mainly checks whether the correct procedure has been followed,” says Reinier Boogers, lawyer at Van Poppel Croonen Van Dijk who assists the lecturer. That will be different if the ROC board wants to dissolve Van Manen's contract and the case goes to the subdistrict court. “He really assesses the substance of the case, there is also a heavier burden of proof.”
Irreparable
The ROC board confirms through a spokesperson that the school board wants to say goodbye to Van Manen. An irreparably disrupted employment relationship has arisen. 'We were not so much concerned with the content of the book, but mainly with the way in which she disclosed confidential information and criticism - afterwards through a book and through the press.' The board states that it is 'very disappointed' in the attitude of the teacher, but does not make this concrete.
An irreparably broken working relationship has arisen
The roc management responds to the decision of the disputes committee: 'The appeal against the first two (urgent) suspensions has been declared purely procedurally valid.' Based on information from the school board, the disputes committee stated that a time-out was understandable. "We see the statements as confirmation that we have acted correctly in terms of content," said the board.
Support base
At the disputes committee, the ROC management argued that there would be insufficient support for the teacher's return to the team. The institution does not make it clear on behalf of how many employees the employer claims to speak on behalf of - even after being asked by it Education magazine. Van Manen states that eighteen colleagues include it for her in a letter to the management.
I'm going to fight for freedom of speech
'I'm going to fight for freedom of speech, because I find it scandalous that I was first suspended for months for writing a book and then also fired', so writes Van Manen on its website. “Other employees may think twice before criticizing,” said Boogers. "They know what the consequences could be."
Interview with Paula van Manen from the Education magazine of December 2019: 'Everything was turned upside down
