MBO

Tug of war for the mavo student

Last school year, the intake in MBO fell by almost six thousand students. This dip will continue in the coming years. The biggest blows are the full-time courses, now that more young people move on to HAVO-4 with their VMBO diploma.

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vmbo flies out of illu web

Picture: Type tank

“The shrinkage in North Holland forces us to think about what is needed for students and companies in the region,” says Gerard Oud, chairman of the board of the Clusius College in Alkmaar. The agricultural training center will join forces with ROC Kop van Noord-Holland to form Vonk next summer. The first merger where green, together with care, economy and technology, ends up under one board.

“Our search for solutions for the future started with the question: what is needed for students in this region? This goes further than thinking in the traditional sectors. There is also a lot of technology in green, for example. So we don't want to make such a sharp difference in sectors or courses. But start from our target group. Opportunities are given to ensure that young people and adults with an education in the region find a good job in the region.”

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The merger in the northern part of Noord-Holland is not the first and certainly not the last in MBO. Up to and including 2028, the number of students in this education sector will decrease by about 37 thousand students, according to the latest reference estimate from the Ministry of Education. A decrease comparable to the disappearance of the largest ROC in the Netherlands, that of Amsterdam.

But it is precisely in the large cities that secondary vocational education is relatively unaffected by the population decline. According to the forecasts, the influx will remain fairly stable there, with even a small plus here and there. The blows will fall in the region over the next five years. The subject of shrinkage is therefore at the top of the agenda at MBO institutions. The green courses are especially hard hit, where according to forecasts about 20 percent fewer students will attend the next five years.

Three mergers are already on the agenda for this year

The student decline has already triggered a series of mergers in the sector in recent years. It doesn't stop there, there are already three on the agenda for this year. Clusius and ROC Kop van Noord-Holland will merge this summer into one ROC with twelve branches throughout the region. The Friesland College and ROC Friese Poort want to fully merge at the beginning of 2023. In Drenthe, Terra's green study programs are discussing mergers with ROC Drenthe College. Possibly the second agricultural education that opts for regional cooperation instead of affiliation within the green sector. Until now, there have been cross-regional mergers, especially within the green education sector itself, in order to absorb the shrinkage.
The cause of all this clumping together is clear: the total number of students is falling.

Regrets

Vocational secondary education is struggling with two developments that further exacerbate the natural decline in the number of young people. VMBO is the main supplier of first-year students for the ROCs. But of the twelve-year-olds, first and foremost, fewer and fewer attend pre-vocational secondary education. In addition, students of pre-vocational secondary education (VMBO-g/t) are opting for mixed and theoretical (VMBO-G/T) more often than before for HAVO. This is a consequence of the national determination of transfer rights for this switch.

In the past year, the intake from these two pre-vocational secondary education pathways plummeted, according to figures from the Ministry of Education, to full-time MBO at levels 3 and 4 with about seven thousand pupils. For the 2022-2023 school year, the ministry expects another decrease of around four thousand. After that, the higher transfer to HAVO-4 remains stable.

IMAGE: TYPE TANK

The havo makes a profit in the tug-of-war for the vmbo student. A trend that does not make the MBO Council happy. In the view of the Council, the social discussion about inequality of opportunity seems to focus mainly on the steps taken within secondary education itself, in other words, transferring to HAVO. A preference that many parents share.

Adnan Tekin, chairman of the MBO Council, thinks this is a worrying development. Young people who can excel in MBO still opt for HAVO, he pointed out on the council's website in March. 'Of course it's good to challenge yourself. But if there is a good chance that you, for example, prefer learning on the shop floor during an internship than theory and general subjects, you also run a relatively greater risk of dropping out, with all the frustrations that come with it.'

This is also reflected in the figures: the number of regret optants who go from HAVO-4 to MBO is growing slightly. Not enough, by the way, to accommodate the growing numbers who go to havo.

Still must you go to pre-vocational secondary education and mag you go to havo or vwo

At the end of May, Tekin launched a far-reaching idea: merge VMBO and HAVO into pre-vocational education for MBO and HBO. In addition, there will be an academic route from pre-university education to university. The new pre-vocational education has a mix of practice and theory at all levels. With this idea, he wants to start the discussion that should put an end to the constant competition between the different education sectors. 'Still must you go to pre-vocational secondary education and mag you go to havo or vwo', he motivates the proposal. The idea found little support in the media.

Logically

Meanwhile, there are various developments within secondary education to put more practice in the program. In order to reduce demotivation, dropout and retention at HAVO, people have been thinking aloud for some time now about introducing more practical subjects, also as exam subjects. Various HAVO departments are already working with tech labs, internships or business class.

In addition, in pre-vocational secondary education, the conversion of the learning pathways is mixed and theoretically in full swing into one type of school. In addition to theory, this also includes one solid practical component everywhere, instead of the current ten options in the mixed learning path and four in the theoretical. In principle, this new learning path should start in 2024.

There is not yet a name for this, but many schools already use the old and recognizable term MAVO in their recruitment in practice. The idea behind the new learning path is that with the broad and firmer practical component, VMBO students will have a better idea when choosing a further education course as to which is the best exit for them: MBO or HAVO.

“A system change with one pre-vocational education for MBO and HBO? I don't know whether we are waiting for that”, Gerard Oud of Clusius formulates it carefully. He sees more in collaboration, not only with other MBO courses, but also with secondary education in the region.

I am for freedom of school choice, but not for competition for the student

“Under the pressure of the contraction, I see an increase in the willingness to consult and collaborate throughout the region. I am for freedom of choice of school, but not for competition for the pupil. Of course it then becomes complicated when choosing between MBO and HAVO. What ultimately matters is that we as education look at these young people. What challenge does the student need? Is that more theoretical or are we dealing with a more practically oriented student. In the latter case, a student is much better off in MBO. And you see that things often go wrong in havo-4. That is why, in addition to cognitive HAVO education, there is a practical route in MBO. With a lot of attention for social skills. With good guidance and a clear picture of what kind of work there is for them. For many pre-vocational secondary education students, that is the most logical choice.”

Also read: Number of MBO students teaching assistant growing

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