Tamar van Gelder new AObchairman
Tamar van Gelder will be the new chairman of the as of August 1. AOb. She replaced her predecessor Eugenie Stolk since this spring. "I come from an educational family and a union nest."
Picture: Fred van Diem
The five-membered AObmanagement has divided the tasks. The youngest board member Thijs Roovers will represent members from primary education. Jelmer Evers, history teacher and since 2019 AObboard member, is responsible for secondary education. Henrik de Moel is committed to MBO and Douwe van der Zweep represents the interests of personnel in higher education. Tamar van Gelder is at the helm as new AObchairman.
What will be your main topic?
"Unfortunately, this is due to the shortage of competent colleagues. Due to corona and the lockdowns, this subject has temporarily disappeared from view by politicians and the media. It is also not yet felt in all schools in the Netherlands. And hopefully it will not come to that. But the forecasts are alarming Within a few years more than ten thousand people are undereducated AOb has been sounding the alarm for years. Not alone anymore. But still too little is happening."
What can the AOb to do about the teacher shortage?
"Ensuring that it remains attractive to work in education. Fighting for appreciation to go up. In all education sectors. We do that at the collective bargaining tables, but also towards The Hague. Of course, more appreciation means more salary. But it also means: appreciation for the professionalism of the people In addition, combating work pressure – again in all sectors – remains a very important topic for us.
We have calculated that more money for education will ultimately also be makes money. The classes should be smaller so that the students get more attention. It is personally impossible for me that the level of Dutch education is falling."
You yourself have worked in vocational education. Do you know enough about what is going on in the other sectors?
"I come from an educational family and a union nest. In one video from 1981 can you see me as a child at the opening of the Leon van Gelder school, named after my grandfather. He was an important educational innovator in the last century. And scientific advisor to the ABOP, one of the forerunners of the AOb.
Apart from that: in my five years as secretary for the AOb all sectors have been extensively covered. And I'm not alone in it AObmanagement eh. For example, my colleagues have worked for a long time in primary and secondary education."
What quality will help you in your presidency?
"I am very accessible, I have great stamina and I can put things into perspective. The latter is important to weigh the importance of subjects in mutual connection. The AOb is a broad club. Everyone who works in education is welcome and important. But because of that breadth you sometimes have to be able to say: here we put the brakes on, and this is what we are going for now."
Read also the interview that Tamar gave on Monday about the teacher shortage to the NPO program EenVandaag.
