Sources from The Hague confirm this after reporting from RTL Nieuws. The cabinet is adopting the advice of the RIVM.
In April, the cabinet announced that it was looking at a possible adjustment to the summer holidays, so that school-age children would stay out of school for a week longer over Christmas. The summer holidays would then be shortened by one week, so that on balance the number of teaching hours would remain the same. The adjustment was planned for the coming school year and is part of a broader preparation of the education sector for possible new corona waves. Pupils and parents have been duped several times in the past two years by the sudden closure of schools.
Although the RIVM states that there may be added value to the adjustment, experts think the situation is still too uncertain to take the drastic measure.
The basic principle remains – as emphasized by Health Minister Ernst Kuipers on Friday after the Council of Ministers – to keep the schools open. In the most extreme scenario, it is still possible to switch to partial distance learning.