Helpdesk NPO funds open to teachers
Education teams that are insufficiently involved in spending the money from the National Education Program (NPO) can call a special helpdesk of the Ministry of Education. The helpdesk can be reached on 0800 424 04 24.
Picture: Type tank
The involvement of educational staff is crucial, Education Minister Arie Slob wrote earlier in a letter to the House of Representatives. The AOb agrees and made several suggestions (click here for primary education, secondary education, mbo en hbo en science education) to support education teams and employee participation.
Committed
Teachers know where pupils or students are lagging behind and also what measures are needed. They must be properly involved in the interventions to eliminate the backlog. If not, they can contact the helpdesk. Even if the school board skims off money without consultation, it is necessary to contact the helpdesk.
The helpline has been there since mid-May, but until now it was mainly used by drivers. OCW recently opened the helpdesk to teachers who feel that they are not involved enough in the distribution of the money. Education teams can call or ask questions between 10.00 a.m. and 14.00 p.m. on weekdays.
Without obligation
After a telephone call, the ministry, together with the employers' organizations, can address the PO Council and VO Council. The AOb This helpdesk has been criticized a lot, mainly because it cannot issue sanctions and is therefore too non-committal. AOb-chairman Tamar van Gelder: “Involvement is not yet enforceable, because no formal rules have been drawn up. This was the case, for example, at the reporting center for work pressure resources in 2018, because the unions, employers and OCW had concluded an agreement.”
Motion
The House of Representatives would also have preferred to see the distribution of NPO funds differently. Last week became the motion of D66 MP Paul van Meenen and his colleague from the PvdA Habtamu de Hoop who called for the NPO funds to be distributed in the same way as the work pressure funds in primary education. The money is transferred to the schools and the team then determines what the money is spent on. Van Gelder: “We argued in favor of this, because only then can you use the money 'bottom-up' from the shop floor.”
Would you like to know more about the National Education Programme? Go to our page where all information is bundled.
