Slob: transparency about money for special needs students must be improved
Minister of Education Slob does not want to limit the financial reserves in partnerships for appropriate education. He does think that accountability and transparency should be improved.
Picture: National government
Dat writes Slob to the House of Representatives in response to questions submitted by GroenLinks in response to reports (a en two) by the Education Magazine at the beginning of December. In 2016, the 152 partnerships in primary and secondary education saw their joint equity increase by fifty million euros to 206 million euros. The reserves grew one third to three quarters of the organizations.
Slob does not venture to make any statements about these national figures. Collaborations differ too much from each other to set a single upper limit, he argues. For example, the minister considers it logical for an organization that employs its own staff to keep more money in reserve.
Risk
'I expect partnerships to make a risk assessment and based on that, manage the reserve to be maintained', the minister writes. 'The main thing is that the money must be well spent on supporting students. Saving should not be an end in itself. '
However, the annual reports reviewed by the Education Magazine revealed that partnerships have parked more money in the bank than they think is necessary to absorb risks and setbacks. SWV boards say they will use surplus reserves to support students. At the same time, it appears from a recent investigation report of the Education Inspectorate that nationwide surpluses will still be budgeted for the coming years, rising from four million euros in 2017 to 14 million euros in 2019.
Conversation
Slob wants partnerships to be accountable to those involved for the financial choices. 'I think it is important that the results of the partnership are accounted for at regional level, so that discussions can take place there about the necessary amount of the reserve.'
From one sample recently showed that only half of the partnerships actively put the full annual accounts online. Transparency must be improved, says Slob. His predecessor announced late 2016 has already introduced a bill requiring educational institutions to publish their full annual accounts online. That bill will probably go to the House of Representatives before the summer, and will be introduced in early 2019. These rules therefore apply to partnerships.
The guidelines are also intended to bring greater clarity to the financial reporting adjusted. In partnerships, there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the regulations, because they were copied from school boards and would not fit in well with their organizations.
