Minister Arie Slob steps down.

Minister Arie Slob steps down.

With the arrival of a new cabinet, Arie Slob steps down as minister of education. Today he announced that he will not return as a minister. We look back on a pleasant cooperation despite a turbulent period for education.

During the time Slob was minister for primary and secondary education, parents gained a stronger position. Both in schools themselves and at the national tables where education policy is discussed. Involvement of parents in education was an important focus point for this minister of the ChristenUnie.

Tailored education

Parents gained, through the school participation council, approval rights on the main lines of the schools’ budget. There was also more space for parents to set up new schools. A large improvement approach came for Tailored Education, with 25 measures to repair the system. Arie Slob actively supported the law from GroenLinks and SP which ensures children are not excluded from activities if their parents do not pay the parent contribution.

Educational inequality

Other topics were less successful. The teacher shortage remains a structural problem in education and the decline in education quality has not stopped. Low literacy is a growing problem and the educational inequality between children also increased. To counter this, structural investments in education are needed, for better salaries, less workload and smaller classes. These seem to be available with the new coalition agreement.

Corona crisis

Slob will also be remembered as the minister who had to close schools for long periods three times during the corona crisis. Schools could stay open for a long time, but in March 2020, with a first peak in corona outbreaks, this was no longer possible. Periods followed in which schools could open again and then had to close again. Pupils had and still have a hard time.

The successor of Slob has a big task to get education back on track. By structurally investing in the quality of education, tackling the teacher shortage and ensuring visible progress in the area of Tailored Education.