The interim board has been nominated by the Ministry of Dennis Wiersma (Education). He previously demanded, including in De Telegraaf, that Van Denderen would leave the field due to (financial) mismanagement. The interim administration must now get to work on the necessary recovery, the ministry said on Tuesday.
“The leadership of the SvPO schools will now be in the hands of five directors nominated by the ministry, who have extensive experience in various fields of education,” said Wiersma in an explanation. “It is good that the SvPO director has come to the conclusion that it is better for him to leave in the interest of the students.” The House will debate the state of affairs at the controversial school group on Wednesday.
Quality
Van Denderen indicated in April that he would leave and that he would not attach any further conditions. Wiersma said earlier that he also wanted to recover the millions in education money. “22.5 million has been spent on matters for which education money is not intended,” said Wiersma. “The Inspectorate has also reported this. This money must now also be repaid as the wiedeweerga.”
In addition to the financial mismanagement, the quality of the SvPO schools also leaves much to be desired. Three of the eight schools – the group has schools in Utrecht, Amsterdam and Hoorn, among others – are assessed as ‘very weak’, and the rest of the schools must also improve quality in certain areas.
It frustrates Wiersma that schools can get away with providing poor education for a long time, he said earlier in conversation with De Telegraaf. “As a school, you can fall through the ice for a long time before we say: it’s done. It annoys me that schools are rated poorly for years on end. You also know that for years they have been providing substandard education to students.” The new-fangled minister says he plans to act more quickly against this. “It is at the expense of children. And especially with children who are young, that is quite a lot.”