Appreciating education

The educational system is under pressure.
Teachers in secondary education recently went on strike to protest their heavy workload and the reduction of their leave time. There was a great deal of rhetorical saber-rattling. They said the current Minister of Education was not worthy of wearing the robes of her office. It is clear that more is going on here than meets the eye. The issue is about confidence in, and appreciation for the professionalism of the teacher.

The belts of diligence are being tightened in higher vocational education following the InHolland affair and other issues relating to the quality of education and the assurance of proper scrutiny. The Cabinet recently discussed a bill that would toughen oversight in higher vocational education with an eye to putting a stop to the practice of awarding dubious degrees.

The universities are under pressure, too. According to the recent outline agreement concluded with State Secretary of Education Halbe Zijlstra, performance agreements will be made with the with individual institutions on issues such as reducing drop-out rates, improving educational yields and raising the profile of research.

This pressure on education and the educational system may have positive results, but it may also backfire. The directors and teachers can work together with pupils and students to face up to the challenge and really improve education, even though the educational sector in the Netherlands already has a solid international reputation. Just as in any field, there is definitely progress to be made. For example, the link between education and research needs to be reinforced (also at the Bachelor’s level) and education needs to be made more rigorous and challenging. Personnel policies also need to reflect a sense of appreciation for education, and I am personally very much in favor of efforts in this area.
But there is also a risk factor. The contradictions could become more pronounced, and there will be more supervision and less space for the institutions and for the teachers. This will ultimately result in less confidence in, and appreciation for education, which is a situation that must be avoided at all costs.