Prinsjesdag 2020.

Prinsjesdag 2020.

No coaches but cars that drove to the Grote Kerk instead of the Ridderzaal. It was a prince's day that was different from others. The king did read the throne speech as he does every year. What did he say about education?

The king first expressed thanks and appreciation in the throne speech to everyone in healthcare who did all they could to meet the corona crisis. He mentioned how corona affects school and work and called it ‘very impactful’ for students not to be able to take final exams. Besides the resilience of teachers, he also explicitly spoke about the resilience of parents who suddenly combined work and teaching at home.

Backlogs

In the education budget, as was previously announced, extra money is available to tackle the teacher shortage and remove backlogs. “Education has received extra money to take the next steps in large cities to tackle the teacher shortage. After an unusual spring with empty classes, 500 million euros is also available to remove education backlogs. This can be used, for example, to give extra tutoring.” Parts of this money are already in use.

Criticism

For several years, Ouders & Onderwijs together with teachers’ unions has called for structural investments to meet the teacher shortage. This budget has not yet provided this solution.

Debate

The minister of finance has meanwhile presented the briefcase containing the budget memorandum and the national budget to the House of Representatives. In the coming days, the House will debate the budget with the cabinet.