News item | 16-09-2025 | 15:35
For the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), Prinsjesdag is all about continuity and clarity, with a few changes. Good news is that the cutback on the educational opportunity scheme is reversed. On the other hand, OCW does contribute to government -wide cuts.
Expenditure in 2026
In total, OCW has € 57 billion in expenditure on the budget for next year. Of this, € 29 billion for primary and secondary education, 18 billion euros for further education, € 4.6 billion for student finance, € 2.7 billion for culture and media, and € 1.8 billion for research and science.
By on the road
Minister Gouke Moes: “The Chamber has asked the Cabinet to fit well on the store. I will do that. Education, culture, media and science are crucial for our country. We will continue on the chosen path. With cutbacks where that is possible, but also with extra money where that is possible and necessary. This is essential for education in the region, for example, we have to make good education. to preserve education in regions where the population is shrinking. “
Maintain education in the region
The government wants all students everywhere in the Netherlands to have enough choice and that the range of training courses meets what is needed on the labor market. That does not happen automatically, because the falling numbers of students are in danger of disappearing important studies. In 2026, the cabinet will therefore allocate € 30 million for the MBO in shrinking regions, and € 26 million for HBO in the regions where there is shrinkage.
Cutbacks
The cutbacks used remain, except those on the educational opportunity scheme. Rijkslijd decides to cut the cabinet extra. There will be less price adjustment for all departments. For OCW, this means that there will be less money to compensate for schools and cultural institutions, among other things for the increased prices of, for example, energy and housing. Exactly how much OCW has to return will be announced in the Spring Memorandum 2026.
In addition, from 2029, the government plans to cut back on the incidental wage space. For OCW, this means that from that year less money will be added to the budget for, among other things, additional rewards of educational staff, such as one -off bonuses.
Cutbacks of educational opportunity scheme reversed
The cabinet is declining the cutback on the educational opportunity scheme, partly at the request of the Lower House. This is paid with the previously explained government -wide cuts.
With the Educational Opportunities Regulations, secondary schools can provide additional support to children who are at risk of educational delay. For example, schools can use an extra educational assistant, organize smaller classes or work on parental involvement. At the presentation of the Spring Memorandum, it was previously decided to halve the money for the educational opportunity scheme (a total of € 177 million per year) in 2027 and completely canceled by 2028.
State Secretary Koen Becking: “I am relieved that the cut in the educational opportunity scheme is from the books. For example, high schools can continue to provide students with the required extra support. In addition, we will continue to tackle the teacher shortage and strengthen the basic skills of students in the coming period.”
Improve basic skills
The government wants to further improve the basic skills (reading, writing, arithmetic, digital literacy and citizenship) of students at primary schools and secondary schools. Schools receive concrete help from the Basic Skills Master Plan. For example, teachers get more time to increase their professional knowledge. There is extra attention for reading, writing and arithmetic.
In the MBO, incoming students, where necessary, are additionally updated on language and arithmetic. A total of € 47.2 million is available for this, for the current and coming academic year.
Tackling teacher shortage
There is still a big shortage of teachers and school leaders. That is why the cabinet allocated € 272.4 million for this in 2026. The government wants to train and retain teachers in the right places in the country with the cooperation in the education regions in order to keep teachers. The shortage is not the same everywhere. In the coming year, OCW will also invest extra in side inflow, in which people become a teacher from a different profession. More than € 54 million is available per year.
There is € 5 million available for teachers who want to work more hours.
Panorama Mesdag Rijksmuseum
Special news this Prinsjesdag for Dutch heritage, and for Panaroma Mesdag in particular. This museum, with the famous cylindrical painting with a circumference of 120 meters, is in financially heavy weather. To keep it open to the public, it is intended that Panorama Mesdag will become a Rijksmuseum. For this, € 1.8 million is included in the budget annually.
Programs for Strong Education and Research extended
To contribute to new world -class research in our country and to strengthen education, three programs from the National Growth Fund are entering a next phase. This is the Development Power (for sustainable education improvement in primary and secondary education and MBO), the NPULS program (for future -proof education with digitization) and the National Growth Program Biotech Booster (for scientific breakthroughs in the field of biotechnology). For this, € 77 million is on the budget for 2026.