Less budget for teacher grant
The teachers' grant budget will be reduced by 28 million euros to 50 million. With the discount, Minister Arie Slob finances side-entry programs and the training for teaching assistants. At the same time, the number of applications for teacher grants continues to decline.
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From 1 April prospective qualified teachers and other professionals from primary, secondary, secondary vocational and higher professional education can reapply for a maximum of EUR 7000 for the teacher grant. Employers can receive a subsidy to arrange a replacement, so that teachers with a grant can make use of study leave.
The money for side entry programs and teaching assistants is therefore not extra, but comes from the teacher grant.
From this year, the budget for the teachers' grant will be reduced by 28 million to 50 million euros. All follow-up applications for previously started courses can be approved, but the budget for new applications is limited. These will be awarded in order of receipt from April 1, so apply quickly. The Ministry of Education announced this last month. With the discount Minister Arie Slob finances side entry programs and the training for assistants to become teachers. The money for this is therefore not extra, but comes from the teacher's grant.
Applications are declining
At the same time, the number of applications for teacher grants has been falling for years. According to figures from Duo, the executive agency of the Ministry of Education, 8251 applications were submitted for a teacher grant in the past year, a decrease of more than 7 percent compared to the previous year. In 2017, the number of applications for a teacher's grant was still 10779.
The number of teacher grants awarded has also decreased
The number of teacher grants awarded has also fallen, from 8826 in 2017 to 7606 in 2018 and to 7019 in the past year (85 percent of applications). Most grants were awarded in the past year in secondary education (46 percent), followed by primary education (30 percent), MBO (14 percent) and HBO (10 percent).
Many teachers do not have enough time to study alongside their job, despite their right to study leave
Investigation of the AOb, Researchned and the University of Groningen, has previously shown that many teachers do not have enough time to study alongside their job, despite their right to study leave.
Qualified teachers who want to follow a higher professional education or university education can apply again from 1 April for a grant of up to 7000 euros. This amount is intended to reimburse tuition fees, study resources and travel expenses. The employer can also receive a subsidy to appoint a replacement, so that teachers can take study leave.
