Rotterdam is abolishing the welcome bonus for teachers
From next school year, the municipality of Rotterdam will stop the bonus of five thousand euros to 'lure' teachers to the city. There appeared to be little support for the bonus among school boards.
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Former Alderman for Education Hugo de Jonge, now Minister of Health, introduced the bonus from the 2016-2017 school year. He wanted to convince teachers to teach in Rotterdam. Lecturers who teach in a deficit subject, such as math, chemistry, physics and German, are eligible for the premium. Just like teachers with a university master's degree in primary education.
This school year 48 teachers received the premium. In the previous school year, this involved 26 teachers and in 2016-2017 there were 21 teachers.
Support base
Now the municipality of Rotterdam is abolishing the bonus, confirms Mirjam Keunen, spokesperson for education alderman Said Kasmi (D66), by email. Introducing the new education policy 'Equal opportunities for every talent' led to a review of all measures. "Together with the school boards, we have examined which measures are effective and which measures school boards indicate that there is no support for them," Keunen writes.
The Rotterdam Teachers' Fair and the Rotterdampas will continue to run next school year. With the grant, up to a maximum of two thousand euros, teachers can pay for a study, course or internship. The Rotterdampas gives education staff a discount on outings in the city, such as theater, swimming pools or the film. The spokesperson said that the package of measures from next school year will also include extra guidance for starting teachers.
Vacancies
The teacher shortage is a major problem in Rotterdam. The municipality expects that there will be 160 FTEs of unfilled vacancies in the coming school year.
