Starting next school year, schools in primary and secondary education can receive support from basic teams that help pupils learn to read, write or count. That is published in a Thursday plan of minister Dennis Wiersma (Primary and Secondary Education, VVD). According to the Ministry of Education, there are still too many students who do not master these skills enough after primary school.
About 500 schools will receive extra money next school year to improve basic skills. This also includes citizenship and digital literacy. For example, with the money they can teach an extra hour a day to students who need more help. Schools that cannot organize this with the existing team of teachers can receive support from an auxiliary team of experts with the minister’s new plan. They go to schools and draw up a plan together with the school management.
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Many teachers do much more than teach students to read and write, says Wiersma. “They offer a listening ear when children are being bullied or are not safe at home.” Nevertheless, he believes that the focus should be on basic skills in the coming years. “People simply cannot live without being able to read, calculate or know how the (online) world works. That is why we are going to help teachers and school leaders better and more specifically to help students move forward. This is not a question of more work, but of more focus.”
It is not yet known how much money Wiersma will set aside for this plan. Last month, he announced that he would structurally allocate 1.5 billion euros for education. With this he wants to improve teacher salaries, reduce work pressure and make the profession more attractive.