Smaller classes top priority for Jesse Klaver
The Hague politicians star too much at spreadsheets. And education has been 'economized', says Jesse Klaver, party leader for GroenLinks. "In education, I have come to see how the focus on economic growth is destroying an entire public sector."
Image: Angeliek de Jonge
For Jesse Klaver (34), education was the first policy area where he got his teeth into politics. He had the portfolio between 2010 and 2015. Not long afterwards he wrote a book The Myth of Economism. Klaver: "Actually, everything I say in it is based on what I experienced in those five years as an education spokesperson."
He recalls, “I have seen how the focus was placed on performance, performance, performance. I have seen how tests were misused to measure policy. You suddenly got excellent schools. Until a few years ago, the education budget stated that raising cito scores was a policy objective. How is that possible? The minister has no influence at all on that. ”
Clover is running out of steam. He is friendly, looks relaxed, but - as would be expected at campaign time - fiercely about how, in his view, 'years of right-wing thinking' got the public sector into trouble. “It was around 2009-2010 that the question was increasingly asked: which educational investments contribute most to economic growth? Studies have shown that countries such as South Korea and Singapore, with high economic growth, achieve higher Pisa scores. Then our government started to invest in it. Steering based on economic output: what makes the largest contribution to the economy? You see it in many sectors. But it was in education that I clearly saw for the first time how this focus destroys an entire public sector.”
D66 and GroenLinks succeeded in playing each other out. That must never happen again
The changes proposed by GroenLinks partly correspond with what D66, PvdA and sometimes also SP want. Later selection, smaller classes, correction of the loan system, higher wages for teaching staff. “Last time we also had many of the same points as D66 in our election program, but what has been prepared in the cabinet? Left parties must work together to get this done instead of fighting each other. You can only accomplish what you have written down in your program if you can hold it to the formation table. ”
You refer to almost four years ago when you did not join?
“Yes, in which we stood alone. And where it has somehow succeeded in separating D66 and GroenLinks. That should never happen again. I stand for that left-wing progressive collaboration. ”
Even a left-progressive cabinet can only spend money once. What is more important to GroenLinks: education or care?
"That is a contradiction that I will not accept."
You want to invest a lot in both sectors. How are you going to do that?
“This is exactly what the right always does. Putting the public sector against each other. I also heard it this autumn: health care is not getting a salary increase now, because then education will also come up with questions. I have never seen a goddamn teacher who says: I want money and with that I deny someone from care. I am not participating in that. "
If you have an accident, the economy grows too
Klaver gets excited: “If a right-wing party proposes: we are going to reduce taxes for large companies for two billion, I never hear anyone ask: how are you actually going to pay for that? It is always seen as logical: we earn that money back. But when I say: we are going to invest in education, the question always follows: how are you going to pay for it? We also earn that back. Partly in money. Children who feel better will have a brighter future and will be more successful. If you are successful, you will simply pay tax again. But even if it weren't, I think you should give kids the very best start there is. When I look at myself as a parent: what do I want most for my children? That they become happy. That they follow their hearts. That they find who they are and who they want to become.
And that they become independent? Keep their own pants up, pay their rent?
I hope so too. But for me it starts with the first. And from there I think they can achieve that independence. My point: when it comes to the public sector, it is often said: we cannot do everything. Damn right that we can do anything. It just requires a different mindset. In the Netherlands, we pretend that there is a fixed pot of money for the public sector. But I want to make that pot bigger. Of course there is a downside to the GroenLinks program. We get that money from large multinationals that have only started paying less tax in recent years. We get it with the richest people in this country, the millionaires, who barely pay taxes on their wealth. Ultimately, the question is: what is really important to you? Growth of the economy in itself says nothing.
A growing economy usually means that more people can work. That is relevant in times of crisis.
Yes, but if we had 70 thousand extra people working in care, that would be quite good for employment. I mean: where is the focus of politicians in The Hague? They look at spreadsheets. ” He pauses for a moment. "I don't know if you smoke?"
No.
“Because if you buy a pack of cigarettes, the economy also grows. If you have an accident, the economy grows too. It shouldn't be about quantity, but about quality. Investing in healthcare or education is also good for your economy. But through years of thinking on the right, we always see this as expenditure and never as investments. ”
Klaver estimates that in the ten years as a Member of Parliament he has spoken the most with people from education. Because of his spokesmanship, but also between 2017 and 2019 when his party did a so-called Canteen tour.
“One of the most painful moments was when teachers said to me in tears: at the end of the day, I feel like I have failed. I have not given my students the attention I should have given. While I know that that one student can use that extra bit of motivation so well. Or that the other person is really helped with some more explanation. Suppose there is scarcity and I would have to choose. In that case, I give priority to smaller classes. It solves so many cases. Take appropriate education. Why did that never fly? Because it involves a lot of bureaucratic red tape. Because all kinds of boards have been set up where money has to be requested. All hassle. But it also goes wrong, because we put children with complicated problems in classes that are way too full. Then they cannot get the education they deserve. And you clamp down on the teacher. ”
Final question. You were born on May 1 (Labor Day, ed.) And have been active for CNV for years. Fan of the union phenomenon?
Unions are super important. Provided they represent their members first and foremost and - if I put it bluntly - fight against the employers. Not just being a lobby club. Or talk club. I think that many unions have moved very much into the polder over time. And that is also part. But you can't ignore a good union. Showing your teeth is so important. Mass works. Take primary education, we are not there yet when it comes to leveling salaries with secondary education, but 50 thousand people here in Zuiderpark? That's impressive. When do we box things together? When people come together, form a movement and be vocal. Then suddenly everything is possible. I strongly believe in that.”
This article appeared in the January issue of the Onderwijsblad. AObmembers receive the magazine eleven times a year in the mail.
