Elementary school ‘t Echtenest in Echten is in danger of having to close its doors. The Education Executive Agency (DUO) has informed the Wolderwijs Foundation, of which ‘t Echtenest falls, that the funding will end on 1 August.
“And that hit the close-knit community of the small Drenthe village very hard,” says Stichting Wolderwijs. “The board of the school and the participation council, with the support of parents, the teachers, the Village Interests Association, the rest of the village and with the sympathy of the municipality of De Wolden, will now ask the Minister of Education to reverse this decision.”
The number of pupils at ‘t Echtenest has fallen below the so-called withdrawal standard of 30 over the past three years. For the first time, the school even had fewer than 23 pupils. Those numbers are not high enough for DUO, part of the Dutch Ministry of Education in The Hague, to pay the bill.
According to the school, this is a “temporary dip” in the number of students, and things look better for the coming years. Especially with the planned new construction of the Nijstad-Oost district in Hoogeveen, two kilometers from the village. “New homes will also be built in Echten itself. It would be a real shame to close our school now.”
The school board and the community fear that the loss of the school will have a major impact on the village. The board and the participation council (MR) of the Wolderwijs foundation are now appealing to the Minister of Education. The minister responsible for primary education is Dennis Wiersma (VVD).
“We call on Minister Wiersma to look further than just efficiency and effectiveness and to go for the quality of life in the village of Echten. We therefore cordially invite the Minister to experience for himself in Echten what the importance of a primary school is in a close-knit community like this,” said Marije Palmers, chairman of the MR.