Most parents support education strike.

Most parents support education strike.

On Thursday 30 and Friday 31 January 2020, there is a strike in primary and secondary education. An online poll by Ouders & Onderwijs shows that 77% of parents support the strike by education staff and 23% are against it.

Goal

The goal of the two-day strike is to get structural more money for education to solve the teacher shortage. Because of the teacher shortage at primary schools, the workload for education staff increases. At secondary schools, many lessons are canceled and more unqualified teachers stand in front of the class.

Why strike again?

At the start of this month, before the one-day strike, the cabinet agreed to an extra contribution for education. The amount of 460 million was mostly a one-time payment. This disappointed the education unions and their members. We need structural money to guarantee good education for our children. With one-time money, you can not invest in, for example, more hands in the classroom, lower workload structurally, or better working conditions.

Effects of the teacher shortage for parents and pupils

Schools facing the shortage of education staff and lack of substitutes mainly solve these problems by giving less lessons. Many lessons are canceled at secondary schools, while children at primary schools are sent home. In other cases, classes are combined, or unqualified teachers teach. Some schools have decided that children can only go to school four days a week structurally. Parents said in the Staat van de Ouder that the government needs to give more money to lower the workload and solve the teacher shortage. A large majority of parents see this as the structural solution to the problem.

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