Primary schools are not prepared for the growing number of asylum seeker children they will be expected to teach, school council PO-Raad warned on Tuesday.

The problems of providing a good education for young asylum seekers are not new but are being exacerbated by the increase in numbers, the council said.

The rules governing the treatment of asylum seekers include the provision of a school place within three days of a child receiving official status, broadcaster Nos says.

‘The schools do not have the teachers who are able to teach children who speak no Dutch,’ council chairwoman Rinda den Besten told broadcaster Nos. ‘There are problems with getting the children to the school and some of the children are traumatised and need help.’

Den Besten says the best solution would be a central manager who could liaise with all the parties involved in educating these children.

‘If we do not invest in these children now, we will have problems with them later,’ she said.