The next cabinet must work towards equal opportunities
With the elections approaching, education is setting hope for a next cabinet. Which files require the attention of the successors of the outgoing ministers Arie Slob and Ingrid van Engelshoven? "Solve the teacher's problems, then you tackle a lot of problems in education."
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Of course, steps have been taken. But it is by no means enough. If you ask around about the merits of the cabinet that resigned on Friday, and more specifically about the legacy left behind by the outgoing education ministers Arie Slob (primary education and secondary education) and Ingrid van Engelshoven (secondary vocational education and higher education), then that is invariably the answer.
Take the pay gap within basic education. "Or actually, pay gaps," corrects Member of Parliament Kirsten van den Hul of opposition party PvdA. “Those between primary and secondary education and those between secondary special education and secondary education. The cabinet has started to bridge them, that's right. We have submitted proposals with GroenLinks and SP to close the gap completely, but unfortunately they did not make it. ”
This is partly because coalition parties voted against. “No professional group has gained as much in four years as the primary school teachers,” responds MP Eppo Bruins of coalition party ChristenUnie. “Rightly so, because no one can explain why that gap exists at all. I don't think it was entirely realistic to close that gap in one cabinet term. As far as we are concerned, this will be wholly or largely done in the next cabinet term. ”
symbool
The pay gap will undoubtedly remain prominent on the political agenda. The subject has almost become a symbol for something bigger: recognition and appreciation for the masters and teachers at all those six thousand primary schools who every day run out of fire for their students, the new generations on which a future Netherlands will build. Equal opportunities, suitable education, large classes, workload and the teacher shortage: the most urgent educational themes of the past and coming years are intertwined like a plate of spaghetti. And all this in the shadow of a pandemic that wasn't even front page news a year ago.
“Corona has put the problems in education under a magnifying glass,” says Van den Hul, who emphasizes equal opportunities for all students as one of the biggest priorities for the coming years. “Various educational problems, such as inequality of opportunities and the teacher shortage, come together in this. It is precisely in neighborhoods where most children live with risks of disadvantage that there is the greatest chance that an unauthorized teacher will be in front of the class. While they deserve the best teachers. ”
It is precisely in neighborhoods where most children with a risk of disadvantage live that there is the greatest chance that an unauthorized teacher will teach
It creates a bridge to funding in basic education, which, according to recent research commissioned by Minister Slob, is only sufficient to achieve a minimal basis. “That report puts the finger on the sore spot. With the expectations that we all have of our education, as an equal opportunity engine with a qualified teacher for each class, the system is underfunded. That is a subject that the next cabinet will need to address. ”
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It sounds promising. But the inequality of opportunity has been increasing for about five to ten years, as the Education Inspectorate has shown. So also during the previous cabinet, when the PvdA was at the helm together with the VVD, and significantly less money was spent on education. Van den Hul: “The problems have been going on for longer, that's right. The previous period was all about 'coming out of the crisis in good health', with almost every department having to tighten their belts. In the end, we did take teachers off the grid. Did we do what we could? Yes. Was that enough? No."
Overtime
A similar study in higher education into the question of whether the funding of colleges and universities is sufficient will probably be on the table at the beginning of this year. Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven will do a trick and prepare the report for her successor.
We have known for a long time that funding is not in line with the ambitions that the Netherlands has in the field of education and research AObsector manager of WO&O Donald Pechler. “We can see from the figures over the past twenty years that funding in academic education has lagged behind. Institutions must serve more students with less money. As a result, employees are faced with an extremely high workload, which translates into structural overtime. ”
In the time that this minister has held sway, little or nothing has been done about these problems
When Pechler listens to members, he hears disappointment. “In the time that this minister has held sway, little or nothing has been done about these problems. For the next four years, the research does offer a new perspective: politics can no longer ignore it. ” And the pillows are being shaken on more fronts: a majority in the House of Representatives has now crossed the bridge to abandon the loan system. “That you don't want to saddle students with enormous debts, that's what I can do,” says Pechler. "If you don't invest in quality education at the same time, you will still be doing them short."
Deciding
“I think that a minister should always ask himself: what does this mean in the classroom?”, Says Lobke Vlaming, director of Parents & Education. "That way of thinking is still somewhat poorly developed at the ministry."
Minister Slob did, however, ultimately listen to the complaints that have been heard for years about appropriate education. A hot topic, the long-awaited evaluation of which was completed last year after an enormous series of studies and policy letters. The Fleming calls Slob's plan of action with 25 points for improvement promising, although she thinks it is quite late, six years after its introduction. Many improvements will take time and will soon be back on the plate of his successor. “Listen to the child himself. And let the teacher participate in the decision-making process. They know better what is needed, but they do not always get it organized. Things like this that are now in the improvement plans have of course been said much more often and earlier. ”
Education is overloaded. If you solve the teacher's problems, you solve many problems in education
As far as Flemings are concerned, the declining quality of education, inequality in opportunities and the teacher shortage are topics at the top of the priority list. Things that are inextricably linked: “Education is overloaded. If you solve the teacher's problems, you are tackling a lot of problems in education. Teachers indicate that classes are too large, that they are insufficiently facilitated and should be better trained for the challenges in the classroom. That is a big button that the next cabinet can turn, and one that will cost a lot of money. But I don't think there is any other way. ”
Crushed
ChristenUnie Member of Parliament Eppo Bruins wants to ensure that politicians do not raise expectations that are too high, in order to create social disappointment themselves. For example, the inflated expectations regarding appropriate education with a frozen budget have led to discontent among teachers, parents and students. "We do not need a new system change, but well-facilitated, resilient teachers who are not crushed between boards and parents."
Another topic on the political agenda back from a while is dear to his heart. Various parties are calling to review Article 23, the constitutional freedom of education. Minister and party member Slob unintentionally added fuel to the fire at the beginning of November when he defended the right of schools in the Lower House to reject homosexuality, as long as they provide a 'safe climate'.
Bruins: “How we deal with differences between schools will remain a main topic in the coming period. As a school, are you allowed to propagate a view that deviates from what is mainstream in politics? Reformed schools teach that, according to the Bible, marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Do you get the space to talk about this at school? To what extent do politicians want to interfere with this? I am concerned about that. ”
This article appeared in the January issue of the Onderwijsblad. The Education Magazine is updated eleven times a year AObmembers on the bus. Know more about the benefits of the AOb-membership? Look here.
