Higher education can order corona self-tests
Students and teachers who want to return to campus can order free corona self tests starting today. But don't wait too long: it can take up to five working days for your order to be shipped.
Picture: National government
A corona rapid test next to your toothbrush: that is the ideal image that Minister De Jonge of Public Health outlined in February when the House of Representatives hammered on the 'reopening' of higher education. This morning that image came a step closer. Via the website Selftesteducation.nl students and staff can now order a free home test.
Order Complete
Anyone sitting at the laptop ready at ten o'clock today could first reminisce about the online 'hunt' for popular concert tickets: multiple browsers and tabs open, mobile at hand ... and then wait for something to happen on the screen. In the end it took an hour longer than planned before the website went 'live'.
Once logged in, it's a piece of cake: the order is completed within a minute. The message that follows on the screen is striking. “The self-tests will be sent via PostNL in five working days”, you can read there. "PostNL's delivery days are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday."
It makes little sense to quickly order a test on Monday for a lecture on Wednesday
Students and teachers must therefore place an order well in advance. It makes little sense to quickly order a test on Monday for a lecture on Wednesday. Why can't that be faster?
First set
This is mainly due to the capacity of PostNL, says a spokesperson for SURF, the ICT organization for education. “Sending self-tests to all students and staff is a large, complex project. Precisely predicting the delivery time is therefore difficult. We aim for a lead time of five working days before your application is visible with track and trace. ”
It is true that PostNL only delivers the self-tests on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, she confirms. That is also agreed in connection with the capacity.
Stock
The nice thing is that you get two to four self-tests per application. Whoever receives a delivery therefore immediately has a supply. "The goal now is to provide as many students and employees as possible with a first set as soon as possible," said the spokesperson. Via the portal you can see when someone can request the next set.
And suppose it suddenly storms, are there enough tests? “Of course we always depend on how many tests are available before we can accept orders. But we are prepared for large numbers. The website is now only used by universities and colleges. For MBO, the tests will only be available via the portal from June. ”
Of course, we always depend on how many tests are available before we can accept orders
The cabinet is allocating half a billion euros to make these voluntary self-tests available for higher education. Anyone with health complaints must still go to the GGD.
Delivery primary and secondary education
In primary and secondary education, the Ministry of Education provides the self-tests. On April 26 it turned out a survey of the General Association of School Leaders that a majority of primary schools had not yet received self-tests before the May holiday. The ministry started deliveries from April 20. AVS chairman Petra van Haren said about this on their website: 'The coming weeks will be the May holiday, so schools do not find the timing convenient.
A spokesperson for OCW said last Tuesday that deliveries are dependent on the availability of the self-tests. "Almost all secondary schools have received the self-tests," he writes by email. For primary education, he can report that nearly half of the primary schools have now undergone self-tests.
Almost all secondary schools have received the self-tests and almost half of the primary schools
With the delivery, the ministry has only taken into account the national holiday week from 3 to 7 May. 'It is logistically impossible to take into account deviations on top of this national free week. It would cause too much delay," said the spokesman.
The ministry expects to provide all schools with self-tests in the coming weeks.
Also read the frequently asked questions about self-tests and their deliveries via this document from the national government.
