Slob: there is no more structural money
The initiative to structurally raise money for education will have to come from the Lower House. Education minister Arie Slob emphasized tonight during the continuation of the budget debate that it will remain with the largely one-off additional amount of 460 million that was put on the table last Friday. He advised against an amendment to directly increase the budget for education structurally.
Statue: Algemene Onderwijsbond
Opposition parties GroenLinks and PvdA want to adjust the budget and their amendment - financing structural investments to increase salaries and reduce workload - by raising the high corporate income tax rate. In addition, there is now a motion of GroenLinks, SGP and coalition party D66 calling on political parties to 'take follow-up steps' in the next term of office to close the pay gap between primary and secondary education and to combat work pressure. Because that motion appeals to parties and not the government, Slob left the judgment to the House. The motions will be voted on next Tuesday; it is not yet clear when the amendments and the budget itself will be put to the vote.
Big wound
Slob's position in the debate was not a big surprise: the minister said that yesterday in front of the cameras during the nationwide strike in primary and secondary education with 4500 schools shut down and thousands of teachers across the country on strike for structural investment. Many teachers regard the incidental extra money as a sweetener, a plaster on a large wound.
"It is a substantial amount," said Slob, who indicated that his colleague from Finance gave no room to turn it into a structural investment. Several parties stated that you cannot increase salaries with a one-off contribution, and that teachers in primary education should earn the same amount as their colleagues in secondary education.
Slob: “The suggestion is constantly being made: if you close the wage gap, the problems will be solved. If only it were that simple."
“This suggestion is always made: if you close the pay gap, the problems will be solved. If only it were that simple. What we can do is take big steps in that direction, ”Slob responded. “We will have to continue our approach unabated. Structurally was a trending topic yesterday, our approach is a structural approach. ”
Formation
Part of the House is not satisfied with that. Already yesterday during the first term of the budget debate, D66 showed a willingness to support an opposition motion in which they promise to make structural money available in the next cabinet to tackle the teacher shortage. Member of Parliament Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks) challenged the government parties to make a structural investment of the 460 million euros allocated by the cabinet. "If we now declare that we will arrange this when the next cabinet is formed, that money can be used structurally," she told her colleagues. She received support from PvdA member Kirsten van den Hul, who repeatedly reminded speakers of this. be aware that you cannot solve the teacher shortage with a one-off financial injection.
Good direction
“But with the 460 million euros that are now available, steps can be taken in the right direction”, Rudmer Heerema of the VVD parried his colleagues' call. “Guiding lateral entrants does not require structural money.” Heerema will only reveal in the election program which sustainable solutions for the teacher shortage the VVD has in mind. “And I am convinced that the VVD will present a better story for education in the election program than in recent years.” CDA spokesman Michel Rog was even more dismissive. "I'm not going to make any false promises."
Rudmer Heerema (VVD): 'With the 460 million euros available now, steps can be taken in the right direction'
Support
Government party D66 does support Westerveld's motion. Member of Parliament Paul van Meenen (D66): "I want the 460 million euros to have a structural character, and if we all say that in the House, the money that is now being transferred to the schools has become structural." This came to him with sharp criticism from his coalition members. “This is panic football. You are taking an advance on the next term of office that you cannot fulfill ”, says VVD member Heerema. “You cannot arrange per motion that the 460 million will become structural. There will be elections first. ”
Member of Parliament Heerema to Van Meenen: 'You cannot regulate per motion that the 460 million will become structural. There will be elections first
Other possibilities
The CDA sees other possibilities to improve salaries. “There are eight thousand teachers in unemployment benefit who receive extra statutory benefits, of which even the AOb says that it is no longer of this time ”, says Rog. The 150 million euros involved could go to salaries, according to the CDA. The workload could be reduced if the teaching time were spread better over the year and together with the VVD, the CDA submits a proposal to introduce a differentiation for the young and the older child in the teacher training college. That would make the training more attractive to boys. There were also plans to entice part-time teachers to work more. The PVV is thinking about a full-time bonus, the VVD about a tax measure that makes full-time working more attractive.
Parents in front of the class
Several speakers denounced the plan of the school boards in the big cities to put parents in front of the class. Undesirable, according to VVD member Heerema. "But if schools in the big cities want to use parents to not have to send classes home and it is approved by the Education Inspectorate, then we have few tools to do something about it." The PvdA prefers to look for the solution in an educational opportunity bonus for teachers who work in difficult schools in the big cities.
