In concrete terms, this concerns the costs of, for example, books or a laptop. Those who follow a vocational training also have to pay for material. The party learned from schools that the number of unpaid school invoices continues to rise, especially when there are many vulnerable students. Schools should therefore save on pedagogical expenditure.
“The shortages are only piling up and children and schools are the victims,” says Naji. “It has long been clear that the operating resources that schools receive are insufficient to offer quality teaching materials. The cost of education should not be an obstacle to the educational development of our children.”
Groen wants to gradually extend the scheme from primary education, where schools are already not allowed to charge money for material needed to achieve the final objectives, to secondary education. In addition, the operating resources for schools must be increased significantly, it says. For costs that fall outside the teaching material, the party wants a maximum invoice.