News item | 30-06-2022 | 4:00 pm
As a teacher you want to teach in a fresh class and as a parent you want to be sure that your child is being taught in a fresh class. Everyone is still keen on how last winter during a new corona wave, the ventilation in many schools was not optimal. Since then, the ventilation in many schools has improved, but there are still schools that do not use all the options available to get the ventilation in order. With autumn approaching, Minister Wiersma (Primary and Secondary Education) is calling on schools and municipalities to work quickly on improving ventilation. To put things into action, €140 million will be earmarked for support specifically for schools experiencing acute ventilation problems.
Minister Wiersma: “There is work to be done. There are more than 9,000 school buildings in the Netherlands, where almost 2.5 million students are taught and 285 thousand people work. The furnishing and indoor climate of some schools is no longer adequate. That is why I am working together with the PO Council, the VO Council and the VNG to ensure good educational accommodation. There are many options that schools can take advantage of. I call on schools to do this, especially now that corona is not gone yet and may pick up in the course of the year. So tackle that ventilation.”
Customized ventilation in schools
In order to help even more schools in addition to all the measures taken earlier, Minister Wiersma is coming up with a tailor-made scheme. This scheme is intended to tackle the problems at school locations with the most urgent ventilation situation. €140 million is available for this. School boards can apply for a maximum of 60% funding from the government through this scheme. In recent times, many schools and municipalities have already worked on improving ventilation with the Regulation on specific allowance for ventilation in school buildings (SUViS regulation). The customization scheme is a follow-up to this.
Emergency teams Room OR and purchase CO2 meters
School boards and municipalities that need help and advice about ventilation can contact the ventilation support teams of Ruimte-OK. Room OK can be reached via 0800–0224402 or www.ventilatiehulp.nl† The website is now well visited and 2,518 guidelines and documents have been downloaded. The helpdesk was consulted 421 times. So far, 534 requests have been submitted to Ruimte-OK for a visit by an expert from the emergency team. Of these, 214 have currently been implemented, 150 have been scheduled and the remaining appointments will be scheduled in the coming weeks. The teams explain at school how existing systems can work as optimally as possible and point out possibilities for improving ventilation.
Minister Wiersma has made money available to install a CO2 meter in every classroom in the Netherlands. Not all schools have used this yet. We call on schools to purchase these as soon as possible. These meters can be used as an aid to ensure proper ventilation. Schools in the Caribbean Netherlands receive the CO2meters awarded.