The first school day of the new 2026/2027 school year did not proceed the same way at all schools on Thursday. Minister Dirk Currie of Onderwijs, Wetenschap en Cultuur (Education, Science and Culture) said that at three of the six schools he visited, mainly teachers were present, while at three other schools both teachers and pupils had turned out in large numbers.
The varying attendance followed conflicting messages about the start of the school year. While the ministry maintained 1 October as the official start date, the joint education unions called on parents and caregivers to keep their children at home. Teachers were, however, asked to report to their schools.
Currie is particularly critical of the part of the union call addressed to parents. According to him, this did not fall within the unions’ authority.
“The union has completely exceeded its authority by calling on parents not to send pupils to school,” the minister said. He announced that the unions will still hear from him in writing on the matter.
According to Currie, schools where management had maintained good contact with parents in advance had a better start. Parents who had doubts reportedly contacted school management directly and were told that the school was ready to receive the pupils.
Consultations with unions continue
The minister stressed that extensive consultations had taken place with the education unions prior to the start of the school year. He said that on Tuesday, he sat down with the unions from about 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
This included looking at agreements made in June and at backlogs that still need to be addressed. It was agreed that two so-called outstanding lists would be drawn up. Matters that should have been implemented by December 2025 will be regarded as backlogs. In addition, an overview will be compiled of current matters for the period from January through June 2026.
The parties are to meet again next week to determine who will be responsible for implementing the various points and within what time frame this must be done.
During the consultations, the unions had also asked, according to Currie, that pupils not start on 1 October. After discussion, the minister nevertheless decided to maintain the official opening date. He therefore said he was surprised by the subsequent call to parents.
Teacher shortage
Currie acknowledged that the shortage of teachers is a serious problem, but for the time being does not want to speak of an education crisis. According to him, it must first be clear how large the actual shortage is at each school.
All school principals must therefore report how many teachers showed up on Thursday in relation to the school’s needs. Pupil attendance must also be assessed.
The minister called on parents to simply send their children to school from Friday.
To partially address the shortage of subject teachers, Currie has asked fellow ministers to determine which qualified teachers are currently working at other ministries. They could make use of an existing arrangement to teach for several hours a week.
Digital education is also being considered for certain subjects. For primary education, the ministry does not want to use this solution as a replacement for the classroom teacher. “We really want a teacher in front of the class for that,” Currie said.
Buses for about 800 pupils
The placement and transport of pupils also remain a challenge. Due to a shortage of capacity, some children cannot be accommodated at a school close to their home area.
According to Currie, this concerns about 800 pupils who temporarily have to travel a greater distance to school. Shuttle buses and other bus transport must be deployed for this group.
The minister could not immediately confirm that all agreed buses had actually been deployed on Thursday and said he would verify this.
According to him, transport over longer distances must be a temporary measure. The ministry is working on the construction of 100 new classrooms, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of December. The ministry had previously also confirmed that it was building 100 classrooms as part of preparations for the new school year.
Once sufficient new and renovated classrooms are available, the approximately 800 pupils should again be placed closer to their home area.
Currie said the ministry wants to avoid as much as possible pupils structurally attending school only three days a week, as this would, according to him, have negative consequences for educational results.
For a separate group of about 230 young children who still cannot be fully accommodated, a three-day school week may temporarily be chosen. The ministry also considered temporary classrooms in containers, but according to Currie, their costs are too high for a solution that would only be needed for one quarter.
The expectation is that the situation will also improve for this group once the new classrooms become available at the end of the year.
