Support for research into direct funding of schools
Minister Slob must consider the possibilities of financing primary and secondary schools directly, outside school boards. A large majority in the House of Representatives this afternoon adopted a motion by D66 to that effect.
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According to part of the House of Representatives, including D66, decisions about the spending of education money are taken too far from the classroom. The motion - which calls on the cabinet to 'investigate the direct funding of schools in primary and secondary education and cooperative forms of cooperation' - received support from the opposition of, among others, the SP, GroenLinks, PVV and the PvdA. The three fellow coalition parties voted against. It is unclear whether Minister Slob will respond to the call.
Last week Slob announced to review the adequacy and effectiveness of the lump sum in primary and secondary education.
Restrict
The Lower House also wants Slob to make agreements with school boards to limit the use of commercial agencies when recruiting teachers as much as possible. Many parties find it a thorn in the side that education money partly ends up in the pockets of headhunt agencies that profit from the teacher shortage.
Sufficient support there also appeared for a motion by D66 and CDA on the so-called performance box, a money pot for educational innovation within the education budget. This money is currently used, among other things, to hire staff. Part of the budget could be used for salary improvements in primary education, both parties believe. The cautious formulation - 'investigate whether and in what manner part of the resources from the primary education performance box can be used responsibly as of 2020' - led to disappointed reactions from opposition parties during the budget debate last week. They believe that the coalition should do more to free up extra money for education, but they did vote in favor of the motion.
Room-wide support was received for the plea for the subsidy practical learning in MBO even after 2019. In addition, the House of Representatives believes that higher education institutions should determine themselves where they set the bar for binding study advice. A majority adopted a PVV motion with that message and thus goes against the course of Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven.
