General

'We must protect schools and teachers'

Education does not provide enough students with the basic skills they will need for the rest of their lives. “We are not doing well,” says Alida Oppers, the new inspector general of the Education Inspectorate.

Tekst Michiel van Nieuwstadt - Redactie Onderwijsblad - - 6 Minuten om te lezen

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Picture: Fred van Diem

Since her appointment as Inspector General on 1 September last year, Oppers has only been physically present at the Utrecht office of the Education Inspectorate a handful of times. “I became familiar with the organization via screens,” she says, one day before the publication of the new State of Education. "It's a pleasure to be in the office."

What has changed in the inspection since you took office?
"I have the message conveyed that we need to focus on the things that really matter. We must give priority to the basic skills. Language, arithmetic, writing, social competences. This applies to education, but also to us as the inspectorate. Schools and institutions are constantly being questioned from all sides. Pay more attention to sustainability, to a healthy lifestyle, to safe traffic. All pretty useful, but if the sum of it makes us lose focus, then we're not doing well. This is a task for politicians, for the government, but also for the school management and boards. Everyone is needed to protect schools and teachers against overload. "

What you measure and record in student tracking systems automatically receives attention. You argue for clear objectives in the field of personal development and citizenship. Doesn't the inspectorate itself impose new requirements on education, beyond the basic skills?

"That is not the intention. Schools have a lot of leeway in the way they deal with these subjects. They do not have to measure it because the inspectorate wants to, but they do have to determine from which vision they offer education and enter into a dialogue about this with parents. ”

The inspection reports have had a concerned undertone for years. Is it going further downhill with our education?

“Crisis management is in place in a number of schools and it is therefore difficult for us to put these facts back on the table, because those facts are not stimulating. We know that everyone has had to make a difference in this time of crisis. Education is being put to the test, but presenting the facts is our role. We also try to convey in our report that we can solve the problems. ”

It is difficult for us to put these facts back on the table

In the previous State, the inspectorate was cautiously positive about the reduction of the inequality of opportunities. Did corona cut off that improvement?

“Much has happened in the past five or six years to combat inequality of opportunity. The negative trend had come to a halt. That is a great achievement of education. This year we have seen how fragile that improvement is. Due to the corona, the differences between students with different backgrounds have been magnified again. Our figures show that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds have become one and a half times more disadvantaged as a result of the crisis than more privileged children. Last year, the problem of the final test was added to that. ”

With the abolition of the final test, the percentage of children who received a HAVO / VWO recommendation decreased from 48,6 to 45,4 percent in the past year. Children were not given the opportunity to persuade teachers with a high test score to revise the school advice. Pupils with a non-Western migration background and pupils with lower educated parents were particularly affected.

Fortunately, that last problem for equality of opportunity is temporary?

"That's right. This month, the final test in primary education will be taken again, but other problems will not resolve themselves. Such as the problem, for example, that it is precisely the children from less privileged backgrounds that more often attend lesser quality schools. ”

Education needs a renovation and not just a repair

The inspectorate has raised the alarm several times in recent years about the consequences of the teacher shortage and the increasing workload for the quality of education. With language, it is just not possible to achieve the target levels for basic skills in primary education, in arithmetic we are even lagging far behind. Are you not being listened to?

“Unfortunately, we see that the trend continues and that it is magnified by corona. The fact that we are hopeful is because everyone is now aware of the importance and scope of this problem. We now need to look not only at the backlogs caused by corona, but also at the underlying problem. Education needs a renovation and not just a repair.

A nice metaphor, but what do you mean by that in concrete terms?

“We want to use that metaphor to indicate that we need to improve the entire system. There is not one measure that will make a difference. In our view, the solution in the classroom starts with better equipping teachers. For example, our studies show that teachers sometimes lack the didactic skills to teach a subject well. This can be done better by retraining teachers. For example, about the way in which you specifically map a learning process in learning pathways and how you work towards goals step by step. ”

Insufficient development of basic skills bothers people for the rest of their lives

Your latest report also shows that the level of basic skills in primary education was roughly stable between 2015 and 2019. So isn't the decline that dramatic?

“In some areas, those skills are indeed stable, but at a much too low level. With arithmetic, only 30 percent of children reach the basic level, while 65 percent is achievable in our opinion. This means that for 50 children every year, what is in it is not taken out. Insufficient development of basic skills bother people for the rest of their lives. In the Netherlands, two million people suffer from their low literacy. We cannot accept that. ”

You indicate that a lot of money will be available, but the National Education Program is a one-off and a lot of paperwork and arranging is required to qualify for money. Surely that is inconsistent with the structural improvements that you are advocating?

“The enormous amount that is now available offers opportunities to do things better. You can use the money to retrain teachers or take work off your hands, so that they can focus on core tasks. If there are enough janitors and other teaching assistants at school, teachers can focus on their core tasks. ”

You write that salaries in primary education are far behind the targets. Instead of the intended 40 percent, only 28,1 percent of teachers are still paid in scale L11, comparable to the old LB scale. What are the consequences for education?

“It's not about getting those numbers. The application of higher salary scales is related to job differentiation, the creation of career opportunities and the strategic personnel policy that schools should pursue. If teachers at their school are of added value to math education through their specialism and knowledge, then you can also pay for it. This gives people an extra reason to want to make a difference. ”

Read also the newsitem about the State of Education with a response from AObchairman Tamar van Gelder.

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