New secondary schools stumble over citizenship
The ministry has approved 34 of the 56 plans for new schools. This concerns 32 primary schools and 2 secondary schools that may start as of August 2023. When plans were rejected, the interpretation of citizenship education was a stumbling block.
That appears from the letter that Minister of Education Dennis Wiersma sent to the House of Representatives yesterday. The initiators who received a 'no' on their plan for Martin Buber, a new secondary school in Kerkrade, are 'devastated' and are appealing against the decision. The plans meet all quality requirements, only citizenship education is insufficiently addressed, according to the inspectorate. Initiators find this incomprehensible. "Citizenship is one of the foundations of this innovative education," says education alderman Jo Schlangen. "It is precisely at Martin Buber that you really get to know yourself, the other person and everyone's role in society."
Unacceptable
Minister Wiersma calls it unacceptable that schools are starting up while the Inspectorate expects that pupils here will not receive a good education: 'We have freedom of education in our country, in which there is scope to found new schools. At the same time, we are also critical: they must be good schools. As a school you have to meet high requirements, for example when it comes to citizenship education, so that all pupils leave school with a solid foundation.'
There is room to found new schools. At the same time, we are also critical: they must be good schools.
It is the first time that initiatives according to the new law 'More room for new schools' have been assessed. Last November, more than half of the 102 initiators submitted an application to be eligible for funding. After the applicants have demonstrated sufficient parental interest in their plan, the Education Inspectorate checks it against the expected quality of education. The Inspectorate looks at various aspects, such as the organization of teaching time, the content of the education and the interpretation of citizenship education. New, stricter requirements have been in force for the latter since last year, and this appears to be a stumbling block for many new secondary schools.
In primary education, five of the forty applications were rejected, three initiators withdrew. This means that 32 new schools will be allowed to start as of August 2023. Primary school De Verwondering Voorne in Brielle is one of them. Initiator Wouter Maagdenberg designed the plan for contemporary education together with other parents and those involved in education. “We want to work with a recognized education provider, who also gives shape to citizenship. This means we meet the soundness requirements of the inspectorate.”
It is good that there is an opportunity to offer a counterforce in this way
The new law 'More room for new schools' should make it easier to set up schools. In primary education, the number of approved applications has doubled. According to the minister, this increase is probably because many applicants have waited for the new procedure. They did not gain a foothold under the old foundation system, writes Wiersma.
Long road
Initiator Maagdenberg is happy that the new law is here. “Here is a large school board of thirty schools that offer the same education everywhere that does not do justice to differences between children. Because it was not possible to change this through the participational council, we are trying to set up a new school. That is a long way and our children will benefit little from it, but it is good that there is an opportunity to offer a counterforce in that way.”
The initiators of approved plans still have a way to go. “Actually, it's really just starting now,” says Maagdenberg. Hiring staff, meeting with the municipality for housing and recruiting students. “It is still quite a puzzle to get this done in fourteen months, but we are going for it.”
Also read: Primary school pupil knows too little about citizenship
