Too many pupils resit a year; minister gives extra money for solution

Schools must do more to prevent secondary school pupils having to resit a year, the schools inspectorate said in a report on Friday.

In Dutch schools 5.8% of pupils need to resit a year, which is high in comparison with other countries, the inspectors said.

Schools should be offering more help, such as special lessons, for pupils who look likely to fail a year, the report said.

A contributing factor is that only one-third of schools look at themselves and the quality of their lessons for the reason why a pupil may have to resit a year. Most schools consider that it is the fault of the pupil. Only half of the schools think that a resit is of any use.

Junior education minister Sander Dekker has informed parliament about the report and is making €9m extra available to pay for ways of bringing down resits, such as setting up summer schools.