“Teachers can work until the age of 62,” Minister Dirk Currie of Education, Science and Culture announced in parliament on Monday. With this, the minister is trying to address the shortage of teachers in the country.
Currie said that a decision has already been taken within the government. All teachers who wish to work after the age of 60 may do so until they are 62. “It is not mandatory, but if teachers want to, they can indicate this.” The minister has the approval of the Raad van Ministers (Council of Ministers) and the government to grant these requests.
The minister recently said that primary education faces a shortage of 54 teachers in the lower grades and 45 teachers in the upper grades. The ministry wants to eliminate this shortage. Currie has no indications as to whether teachers are still leaving the country, but the output from the pedagogical institutes and the Instituut voor de Opleiding van Leraren (Teacher Training Institute) is already being considered to address the shortages. “We are going to offer people a job. We are not going to wait until they apply; we are going to offer them a job immediately.”
He further announced that special education has a shortage of 31 teachers. The various AVO-scholen require 84 more teachers. There are currently no shortages at secondary schools. At the AVO-scholen, there is particularly a shortage of teachers in the subjects of mathematics, Spanish, chemistry, physics and geography. According to Currie, one of the solutions is to introduce digital education.
The minister recently said that the shortage will have to be filled using everything available. Retired teachers who wish to teach will therefore also be deployed. Every year, teachers leave education to work at another ministry, in the private sector or choose a career abroad. In addition to teachers leaving, a number also retire.
