Schools across the province of Friesland will receive 8.8 million euros to help decrease the workload teachers and administrators face.
Ministry of Education
The Leeuwarden Courant reports that the Ministry of Education is making the funding available as part of an agreement made in February between the unions and primary education boards. Schools nationwide will receive 237 million euros in the 2018/2019 school year and 430 million in 2021.
New hires
The money is intended to make it easier for schools to hire additional support staff, such as teacher’s assistants and janitors. Schools can also use the funding to appoint specialized educators, IT, digital learning materials, training sessions and team activities. How much the schools will receive is based on how many students they have. The contribution in Friesland means roughly 156 euros extra per student.
Small schools getting 20 million euros
RTV Drenthe reports that small schools will also receive an additional 20 million euros in funding to keep them open: 120 million euros is already allocated to 2,000 schools with fewer than 145 students.
“Every child has the right to quality education, whether they go to a small school or a big school”, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Arie Slob told NOS. “If a school closes, then the young families often leave, too.”
