The cabinet does not offer a new perspective to education
The education budget for 2021 is disappointing, according to the AOb. Yes, incidental money has been made available in the Spring Memorandum to eliminate corona arrears, but most of that amount will already be spent this year.
photo: Ministry of Finance
It was also known, via the Spring Memorandum in April, that 32 million is structurally available to tackle the teacher shortage. That money mainly goes to the big cities. AObchairman Eugenie Stolk: “We will not solve the national shortages with that. The amount is also too small and too fragmented for that. We can only find more colleagues - especially for the longer term - by making the profession attractive again with less work pressure and a better salary.”
Earlier, a major setback also surfaced. Due to a new population forecast from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the numbers of pupils and students are higher than previously taken into account. The cabinet is covering this setback, rising structurally to half a billion euros, for the most part from general resources, as the Spring Memorandum already showed. But about 60 million has to be paid by the sector itself.
Also the efficiency discount of 183 million euros, a legacy of the previous cabinet that led to resistance led to educational organizations and the Senate, has kept the cabinet afloat.
Unfortunately, this cabinet again does not opt for structural investment
Corona
In May, due to the impact of the corona crisis, the cabinet issued a one-off € 494 million to, among other things, combat learning disadvantages and compensate students. Most of this is already being spent this year. 326 million is intended for the current calendar year, 168 million remains for 2021.
Stolk: “Unfortunately, this cabinet is not opting for structural investment in education, even though the need is so great. In recent months, the maximum has again been demanded of education, switching to online teaching, back to work despite everyone's concerns about corona. Despite everything, the staff tries to make the best of it for the students. ”
Teachers Scholarship
What is also striking in the latest budget of the current cabinet is that structural cuts are being made to the teachers' grant. This will be in the budget for 46 million next year, compared to 2019 million in 78. Stolk: “The teacher's fair had therefore not only been halved for this year, but also for the coming years. This came as a cold shower for all people this year. A missed opportunity that this will not be rectified. ”
