Education Archives - DutchNews.nl

Include student debts in debt register, financial watchdog says

Student debts should be listed with the official debt registration agency BKR to make sure youngsters don’t over-reach themselves when taking out a mortgage, financial services watchdog AFM said on Thursday. Some 15% of first-time buyers do not tell their mortgage provider about the debt, which may mean that they go on to have trouble making the payments, the AFM said. Today’s students run up an average debt of around €21,000 by the time they graduate However, the move would... More >

Fast two-weekly self-tests for teachers

Teachers and support staff at primary and secondary schools are to be offered a twice-weekly fast coronavirus test from Monday, the education ministry has said. In total some 14 million self-test kits will be made available to schools until the summer holidays. The test will help prevent outbreaks in schools and locate them more quickly should they happen, the ministry said. Those who test positive will be prioritised for further testing at a local health centre. Use of the test... More >

Primary schools lower arithmetic bar

A large number of primary school children are failing to live up to their abilities in terms of arithmetic skills, the education inspectorate has said in a report. At least two thirds of children should attain the so-called 1S level in arithmetic but only a third of pupils in regular primary education manage to reach it, the report said. Many children could do better, the inspectorate said, but are not given enough attention because too much time is spent on... More >

Universities call for €1.1bn extra funding

Students and university staff have launched a campaign to persuade the next government to increase spending on higher education, saying the quality is under threat because of continuing cuts. The main problem is down to government funding, which is based on a lump sum and student numbers, universities say. In 2002, the Netherlands’ 14 universities received some €20,000 per student per year but by last year this had fallen to €15,100. In total, universities need investment of €1.1bn to keep... More >