During the fourth week of the parliamentary inquiry committee on Corona, the hearings focus on the consequences of the corona crisis for education, such as school closures. In 2020 and 2021, schools and universities were closed for several months as a government measure to prevent the spread of corona. But have the interests of children and young people been sufficiently taken into account? On Monday, Károly Illy, pediatrician and then member of the Outbreak Management Team, and Ingrid van Engelshoven, former Minister of Education, Culture and Science, will be interrogated.
Pediatrician and then member of the Outbreak Management TeamKaroly Illy
As chairman of the Dutch Association for Pediatrics, Illy regularly advocated in various appearances in talk shows for keeping schools open during the corona crisis: according to him, it was best for children and young people to be able to learn and participate in social activities. On the other hand, the OMT, of which Illy was also a member, recommended school closures during the first and second corona waves as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
According to Illy, the OMT’s advice was always about weighing the interests of society as a whole and the interests of the children. “We did not advise closing the schools because it was so good for the children. Many children suffered from this, but we did it to protect society,” he said in NRC in 2022.
In 2023, Illy retired after almost 30 years as a pediatrician and has been director of the Lung Fund since October 2023.
Then Minister Ingrid of Education, Culture and Science (OCW)Ingrid van Engelshoven
Ingrid van Engelshoven was Minister of Education, Culture and Science for D66 from October 2017 to January 2022. On March 16, 2020, the Rutte III cabinet decided to close schools and universities, and they fully reopened on June 8. Educational institutions also closed in the winter of 2020, during the second corona wave. In those months, schools started digital home education, later followed by ‘hybrid education’, partly at school, partly at home.
Various studies pointed to negative consequences of school closures during and shortly after the corona crisis. So noted the National Cohort Study on Education (NCO) in 2023, delays in primary school pupils learning to read and calculate. The RIVM pointed out in 2022 that the corona crisis had an influence on their lives, especially for young people and young adults (16 to 24 years old).mental well-being“, because their social life was curtailed. According to RIVM research from 2025 the impact decreased in the years after the crisis.
Ingrid van Engelshoven is no longer a politician and currently has several board and advisory positions.
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