News item | 15-12-2023 | 2:30 PM
The government is doing everything it can to tackle the shortage of teachers and school leaders. Yet the shortages will remain high in the coming years. Educational parties in about thirty regions work together to recruit, match, train, professionalize and retain educational staff. The quality and accessibility of teacher training must also be improved. Ministers Paul (Primary and Secondary Education) and Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science) wrote this today in a letter to the House of Representatives about the state of affairs regarding the teacher strategy.
Tackling the shortages requires cooperation and solidarity instead of competition. That is why employers, trainers, teachers, school directors and other stakeholders such as municipalities, UWV Werkbedrijf and the business community work together in the education regions to ensure a well-functioning education labor market. The goal is to expand this approach throughout the Netherlands.
Shortages in primary and secondary education
There is currently a national teacher shortage of 9,800 full-time jobs in primary education, the two ministers write in their letter. An increase of 100 jobs compared to 2022. The shortage of school leaders has also increased this year by around 100 full-time jobs to 1,200. The shortages in the G4 and Almere are particularly high. A national measurement was carried out for the first time in secondary education. This shows a shortage of 3,800 full-time jobs. These shortages apply in particular to a number of specific subjects, including mathematics, physics and languages.
No miracle cure
Minister Paul: ‘We are doing everything we can to tackle the shortages. And we will continue to do that. But we must also be realistic. Because there is no miracle cure. Education also faces competition from other sectors, because there are currently staff shortages in many places. We will also have to learn to deal with shortages in education, for example by resolving bottlenecks in the powers of teachers and looking at teaching time. The quality of education must always come first.’
More lateral entrants
A positive effect of the approach is visible in the lateral entry process, where people from another profession become teachers. The increase of recent years has continued. In 2017 there were 500 lateral entrants. Over the past year, the number of lateral entrants has increased by 15% to almost 2,300. In order to be able to honor all applications, the government has increased the subsidy pot for lateral entrants by more than 9 million euros to a total of around 58 million euros.
Intake of teacher training courses is lagging behind
While the inflow into teacher training colleges showed a slight increase in 2022, a decrease of almost 3 percent is expected for 2023. The total number of registrations for second-level courses is also expected to continue to decline by approximately 3 percent compared to last year. The first-degree courses in higher professional education, on the other hand, have an expected increase of almost 3 percent. With a second-degree qualification, a teacher may teach at pre-vocational secondary education and the lower levels of havo and pre-university education. With a first-degree education, this is allowed in the upper levels of HAVO and VWO.
New primary school curriculum
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is currently working with teacher training colleges, schools and teachers on clearer requirements and greater focus on the didactic skills surrounding reading, arithmetic and writing in teacher training courses. This must be reflected in a new curriculum and clear agreements about what students really need to know and be able to do. The aim is for the training courses to produce teachers who are better equipped for the classroom.
Minister Dijkgraaf: ‘Teaching is the most beautiful profession in the world. We need to make the courses even better and more attractive. And as I often emphasize, the bar must be raised, through more focus, improving the quality of training and better connections from MBO. This is possible with good guidance and room for innovation, but also with clear, defined training. Training courses can also become more attractive by reducing administrative burdens. For example, through fewer reflection reports and more assessment in practice.
Since this year, HAVO students at nine schools in the country can take the school exam subject ‘Practical Route HAVO Education’, where they can get a taste of the teaching profession. The goal is to interest more students in the teaching profession. Furthermore, the trial with the multi-hour bonus, in which approximately two hundred schools are participating, will be expanded. Teachers receive a bonus when they work more hours. This could, for example, be a contribution towards childcare costs.
1.5 billion euros annually for teachers
The government has taken a range of measures to tackle the teacher shortage. For example, the Education Agreement from April 2022 agreed to invest 1.5 billion euros annually in teachers and other educational staff. This means, among other things, that the salaries for teachers in primary education have been brought into line with the salaries in secondary education. This money will also be used to tackle the workload and teaching staff at schools with many vulnerable students will receive an extra allowance on top of their salary.