At least 200 students who were suspected of claiming too much student funding will not have to pay back the extra money because of an administrative error. A court ruled that evidence collected by the education service DUO in fraud investigations was invalid because the checks had been carried out by freelancers or casual workers. The education ministry had stipulated that only employees were authorised to perform the checks. Last year 2080 student files were inspected and 688 fines imposed, but in 88 cases judges have since declared the findings to be inadmissible because non-staff members were involved. Anyone who began studying before 2015, when the student loans system came in, is entitled to a grant of at least €104 a month if they live at home, but those studying away from home receive €290 a month or more. In March a student won a case against the agency after it emerged that one of the two people who inspected his records was a trainee. DUO told De Volkskrant that non-staff workers had not been used for inspections since last summer.  More >

More than half the schools which have adopted or considered adopting an educational philosophy based on iPads and online education have switched back to regular educational styles or never made the transition, the Volkskrant said on Friday. In total, 46 primary schools had either begun as Steve Job schools or considered making the shift, the paper said. However, 12 schools have abandoned the concept and 13 never actually made the switch. The cost of the new programme was the most important reason. The first Steve Jobs schools, named after the founder of Apple computers, opened in 2013. The schools do not have classrooms but open areas and there are no books. Children may also work at home and there are no fixed hours. Founder Maurice De Hond says the school philosophy is based on the ‘toddler revolution’ in which all children are now growing up with tablet computers. He believes those who go to an iPad school will grow up better equipped for the future because of their digital skills. Costs Schools told the Volkskrant than €9 a month fee per pupil was a major problem, because the payments easily mount up to some €20,000 per year. Others said that the system is 'messy' and that children did not do as well in tests as expected. De Hond told the paper that the method does not work if schools are half-hearted in their approach. 'You need a properly structured system, and that needs training and leadership. And that costs money,' he said. De Hond has since turned his attention to selling the Steve Jobs school concept abroad. The Netherlands has a tradition of embracing other sorts of education and already has Montessori, Jena Plan and Dalton schools, for example, De Hond said.  More >

It wasn’t the lesson that brought down the house this time. Children have been sent home from a primary school in The Hague after part of the ceiling fell in during strong winds and rain, reports Omroep West. The children in group 5b at Leyenburg school had already departed and nobody was injured. But further investigations revealed that the ceiling in other parts of the building also needed replacing, and so the children have the rest of the week off.  More >

The Netherlands risks losing out in the battle to attract international companies and highly-skilled workers if it fails to tackle the shortage of international school places, the Financieele Dagblad said on Wednesday. Next week, a committee set up by the education and economic affairs ministries is due to report back on plans to reduce the waiting lists. The FD says it has drawn up a list of 16 initiatives to boost the number of places. Earlier this year, the government also announced plans to invest nearly €11m on increasing the supply of international school places in The Hague and Rotterdam. The number of children attending international schools has risen 47% over the past five years and half the country's schools are said to have a waiting list. The waiting lists are making The Hague an unattractive place for expats and therefore businesses, Wim Rutgers of the WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency told the paper. Robert Westlake, chairman of the Dutch International Primary Schools Association, told the paper: 'Expats only want to work somewhere if their children can go to school. And if they can't, they won't come to the Netherlands.' Amsterdam, where the situation is particularly acute, is planning to 'expand existing schools, open new schools and connect international and national education' in an effort to cut waiting lists, alderman Kajsa Ollongren said.  More >