More than fifty new schools have a chance of funding

Tekst Daniëlla van 't Erve - redactie Onderwijsblad - 1 november 2021 - 5 Minuten om te lezen

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The new law 'More room for new schools' should make it easier to establish a primary or secondary school. For example, a new school no longer has to belong to a recognized religious or pedagogical direction. With this, the cabinet wants to better match the offer of schools with the wishes of parents and pupils.

Initiators must demonstrate interest in their plan with sufficient digital signatures. For a new primary school this amounts to an average of 75 parent statements and for a secondary school to an average of 600 - depending on the dense population of the area.

Challenge

More than fifty initiators seem to have succeeded in this. From the brief that outgoing education minister Arie Slob sent to the House of Representatives today, it appears that the final applications have been submitted from 40 primary schools and 15 secondary schools. This concerns 29 new primary schools and 11 privatizations of existing primary schools. In addition, an application has been submitted in the Caribbean Netherlands for a new secondary school.

Primary school De Verwondering Voorne in Brielle, for example, managed to get all 94 signatures. “That may not sound like much, but it was quite a challenge because the target group that you can ask is limited”, says a relieved Laise de Melo who, together with other parents, is taking the initiative for this new school that will offer contemporary tailor-made education.

Parents of young children are still orienting themselves and do not really feel the need for a new school

According to the rules, recruitment is only allowed in and around the postcode area, and among parents of 2- to 4-year-olds (primary education) and 10- to 12-year-olds (secondary education). De Melo: “Parents of young children are still orienting themselves and do not feel the need for a new school. However, the schools in the area all cater to the average student, which is fine, but not enough if a child needs something else. However, parents of older children who run into this and want to support our initiative were not allowed to sign.”

Strict requirements

Another disadvantage was that large cities such as Vlaardingen - on the other side of the rivers - are within 6 kilometers of their postcode area, which meant that they had to obtain more parental statements than average. “While no parent from Vlaardingen will send their child to our school, which is an hour and a half away. And parents with an interest who live just outside the 6 kilometers, such as in Geervliet, are not allowed to sign because of those strict requirements,” she says.

Nevertheless, they succeeded thanks to the campaign they conducted, supported by an enthusiastic group of parents and teachers. That did not work for the plan of the secondary school O3 in Utrecht. The initiators managed to get 600 of the 150 signatures. “Far too little, but still a lot if you consider that we have no resources for a campaign and no support from a large school board like many other initiatives do,” says former rector Jacomijn de Vries.

There is certainly interest in our concept, so we will continue

Together with another former school leader, she has been working for a number of years on a new school in Utrecht that should train students to become self-conscious global citizens. And they're not giving up yet. “The number of students in Utrecht is still growing, so there is still room for a new school. I think it is important that there is enough choice for parents and there is certainly interest in our concept. We will continue, we will have our plan assessed for quality and resubmit it next year.”

She hopes that the procedure will then have changed: “I think it would be more logical if there was a quality check first and then the municipality announced all approved plans to the parents. That way we all get an equal chance.”

Islamic

It is striking that 20 percent of the plans for new schools have an Islamic basis. Of these, ten primary schools and seven secondary schools have collected sufficient signatures. If the plans go ahead, the number of Islamic secondary schools will increase from two to nine.

If the plans go ahead, the number of Islamic secondary schools will rise from two to nine

Islamic education is often the subject of political discussion. There is a fear that education is at odds with Western values ​​and hinders integration. In de Volkskrant Yusuf Altuntas tells us that his Islamic Fiducie College in Amsterdam will soon be a 'school like any other'. The only difference: 'We give two hours of religion class a week and students are given space to pray at school. In this way we offer a better connection between home and school culture.'

Quality

Whether all the submitted plans will actually see the light remains to be seen. For example, a permanent part of the 'More space for new schools' procedure is that initiators first consult with existing schools, the partnership and the municipality to see whether their ideas can also be given shape within an existing school. According to it Noordhollands Dagblad three initiators of new Islamic schools in Zaanstad did not have this conversation, despite repeated urging from the municipality. This can be a hitch for starting a school.

After a selection by DUO, the Education Inspectorate will assess the remaining plans for educational quality. The Inspectorate looks at various aspects, such as the organization of the teaching time, the content of the education and the interpretation of the statutory citizenship assignment. Before 1 June 2022, the Minister of Education will decide whether a school meets all the conditions and is therefore eligible for funding. New schools can start in the 2023/2024 school year at the earliest.

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