The Joint Education Unions (G.O.V.) are calling on parents and guardians to keep their children at home on Thursday, 1 October. According to the unions, on the eve of the new 2026–2027 school year there is still insufficient clarity about teacher staffing at schools.
The call is contained in a statement dated Wednesday, 30 September, signed by G.O.V. coordinator B. Barron. The unions are asking all teachers to report to their own school on Thursday. Together with the school management, they must assess the actual situation.
According to the G.O.V., it must first be clear whether conditions at the school allow for the responsible accommodation of pupils. The call on parents to keep their children at home is therefore motivated by safety considerations.
“The school situation must first be put in order. Afterwards, pupils can be responsibly accommodated,” the unions write.
The statement was issued on behalf of FOLS, with its affiliated organisations KOB, COB, SOB, IOB and BLTO, and on behalf of Syndicaat, DoHOS and VWPU. They emphasise that the education sector jointly bears responsibility for a good start and proper course of the school year.
The call means that the unions expect teachers to be at school on the first school day, but ask parents to keep their children at home. The statement does not mention a date on which, according to the unions, pupils can return to school. Nor does it specify for each school which staffing problems are at issue.
