Eyebrows were raised in The Hague last summer when it emerged that 2,400 teachers were turned down for a ‘teacher scholarship’. This grant is intended for teachers who want to continue their own education, a master’s degree for example. But all of a sudden the coffers were empty: the money had already been used to tackle the shortage of teachers.

The House of Representatives debated this for a month at full throttle, without any result. Education Ministers Arie Slob and Ingrid van Engelshoven said there was nothing more they could do for the teachers affected. The rejected applications would be given priority the next time round.

Last month, GroenLinks and the SP wanted the ministers to say what they would do if the money were to run out again. Rethink and focus, was the answer.

Domino effect

They will now have to do just that, because 4,676 applications for a teacher scholarship out of the 5,895 received this year were honoured, according to a letter from the education ministers. In other words, 1,219 teachers got bad news.

All of those are teachers who had applied for a scholarship for the first time: this year they were at the end of a long queue, behind the teachers applying for a second or third time and teachers whose application was not honoured last year. Those were the applications that could be honoured.

This leads to a domino effect, as stated in the letter: teachers whose applications were previously rejected will again be given priority when applications for the academic year 2022-2023 are considered. Consequently “there may be little or no budget left” for new applications, the ministers write.

Soap

Member of Parliament Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks) reacts with amazement on Twitter. “Unbelievable. The soap opera surrounding teacher scholarships is simply being repeated.” Even though the House of Representatives will shortly begin its summer recess, she wants to find a solution quickly. “This sort of lunacy motivates me even more.”

Peter Kwint (SP) finds it baffling too. “Political circles in The Hague have looted the coffers of this important scheme and have refused for a long while to rectify matters. Meanwhile, teachers who want to pursue further education are being held back.”

The General Union of Education AOb feels that the ministry should award those scholarships now. “It is inexplicable that billions are being handed out in the context of the National Programme for Education but that a relatively small sum cannot be released for teacher scholarships’’, says AOB director Jelmer Evers in an interview with the union for teaching staff’s magazine Onderwijsblad.

Study

The process for this year’s applications for teacher scholarships started on 1 April. For teachers in primary, secondary and higher education the ‘grant cap’ was reached on that day and for secondary vocational education on 2 May. In the higher education sector 263 teachers applied too late.

The ministers write in the letter that they want to hold discussions with teachers, school leaders and the House of Representatives about the problems with the teacher scholarships. They have also initiated an evaluation study, the results of which are expected later in the year.