News item | 19-09-2023 | 3:00 PM
Extracurricular activities and a good meal at school, even for children who do not always receive this from home. It is one of the necessary expenditures that will be made in 2024 by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In addition to some new expenditure, the ministry will continue to invest in basic skills, talent, research and culture in 2024. In order to meet the major social challenges, there must be continued investment in the talent we have in the Netherlands in education, science and culture. Investments in further education and research were desperately needed. Long-term overdue maintenance has put our country at a disadvantage. Money will also be available in 2024 to bring research and education back up to standard. The role of libraries is increasingly broadening. A library must also be accessible to everyone, either physically or online. In the Netherlands you are free to be yourself, and in 2024 OCW will continue to work on acceptance and rights of LGBTIQ+.
Free school meals and extracurricular activities
This year, free meals were started at primary and secondary schools for those students who need them most. These are schools where at least 30% of the students come from a family with a low income. Resources will also be available for the 1,600 participating schools in 2024. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science will invest €102.5 million next year, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment €52.5 million, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport €10 million, and €1 million in general resources is available for schools in the Caribbean. The Netherlands. The Youth Education Fund and the Red Cross will continue to implement the program in the Netherlands.
Children learn a lot in the classroom, but it is just as important that they can also participate in extracurricular activities. Think of sports, going to the museum or extra homework help. Not all children grow up in an environment that optimally supports their talents. In order to offer all children equal opportunities, the School & Environment program will continue in the coming years for students in primary and secondary education. €324.1 million will be available for this in 2024, followed by €433.2 million structurally. Schools organize this program together with municipalities and local parties such as sports clubs, libraries and cultural centers.
Officials who bridge the gap between school, children and families
When there are problems at home, it is often difficult to keep your mind on things. From 2024, €51.8 million will be structurally available to schools for the so-called bridge officer: an expert at school who helps children and families if there are problems at home that influence their functioning at school. This concerns help and advice with financial, educational or health problems. Bridge officials have been working successfully with bridge officials in Groningen and Zaanstad, among others. In addition to help for parents and students, internal supervisors and teachers are also relieved and the support structure at school is strengthened. A subsidy scheme will be published soon.
First steps towards more peace and space for colleges, universities and science
Education and research are of great importance to our society. It helps us to better understand the world around us, discover new things and prepare for the future. The climate crisis, the energy transition and new technologies such as AI are radically changing our lives. Everything you see will be produced, transported, grown and conceived in a different way. In order to position the Netherlands as a knowledge country at the top of the world, Minister Dijkgraaf (OCW) has concluded a broadly supported administrative agreement in 2022. In this context, an additional € 1.1 billion will also be available in 2024, aimed at:
A healthy and strong foundation, for example by giving (young) researchers a chance with starter and incentive grants, but also by encouraging practice-oriented research at universities of applied sciences (also in the region). In addition, there will be room to invest in facilities and to collaborate more at European level.
Providing space for talent, for example by increasing the number of permanent contracts through sector plans, among other things. But also by investing in student well-being and a socially safe environment for students and employees.
Contributing to the social challenges of now and the future, for example by investing in training for sectors where we urgently have a shortage of people, but also through better cooperation, both in the region (shrinkage areas), nationally and internationally.
Teachers
Minister Dijkgraaf and Minister Paul (Primary and Secondary Education) continue to attract and retain teachers with the € 1.5 billion that is available annually for this purpose. This money is intended, among other things, to equalize salaries between teachers in primary and secondary education and to reduce the workload, for example by recruiting support staff. There is also money for teachers who work at schools with many students who need extra guidance.
Basic skills master plan
Minister Paul of Primary and Secondary Education is committed to quality of education by further improving language and arithmetic for all students. €1 billion will also be available for this in 2024. To teach students to better read, write, calculate and become digitally literate, so that they can participate well in society, there is the Basic Skills Master Plan. About 3,000 schools in primary and secondary education are working on this.
MBO: appreciation it deserves
Equal treatment and appreciation for MBO students will also be a priority of Minister Dijkgraaf in 2024. Just like at higher professional education and university, they must be given the guidance and space to develop into the best version of themselves. Minister Dijkgraaf has made almost €400 million available for 2024 to be used through the MBO work agenda for three goals: promoting equal opportunities for MBO students, improving the connection between education and the labor market, including internships, and improving the quality of education , with a focus on basic arithmetic, language and citizenship education. Preventing early school leavers is another spearhead for which €165 million will be available in 2024, including for extra intensive guidance. Learning in practice is an indispensable part of education. For many MBO students it is often their first introduction to the labor market. All students deserve that their internship is a safe and valuable experience with good guidance, appropriate compensation and where we eliminate internship discrimination. To this end, an Internship Pact has been concluded in which the business community, employee organizations, educational institutions and the government commit to these objectives and in which Minister Dijkgraaf will invest € 7.5 million next year. Minister Dijkgraaf wants the business community to make sufficient places available with good guidance. For the business community, this is a stable investment in the future: the Netherlands needs good professionals now and in the future.
Future-oriented libraries
State Secretary Gunay Uslu continues to ensure that every municipality has a future-oriented library facility. In concrete terms, this means that gaps in the physical library network are closed and the online library is expanded. In addition, State Secretary Uslu also wants to impose a duty of care on municipalities, so that access to libraries is guaranteed in the future. €51.7 million will be available next year, and a structural amount of €58.7 million from 2025. This allows municipalities, for example, to apply for subsidies for new libraries or better collections.
Fair pay for creators
Makers and people in creative professions deserve a fair reward for their work. State Secretary Uslu wants cultural institutions that receive money from the central government through the basic infrastructure (BIS) to start working on this in the coming period. This means, among other things, that they must join collective rate agreements for the remuneration of, for example, artists, technicians and makers. In the coming BIS period, which runs from 2025 to 2028, State Secretary Uslu will allocate €34.1 million annually for this.
Emancipation
The ambitious emancipation goals have been translated into resources for various organizations that are committed to greater gender and LGBTQ+ equality in the Netherlands in the 2024 budget. They are supported with more than €20.9 million per year. In addition, the activities from the national action program for sexual misconduct and sexual violence and the emancipation memorandum will be implemented in the coming years.