'Qualified classroom teachers are a necessity'
There is a shortage of teachers in secondary education. That is why more and more unqualified teachers are appointed.
An undesirable state of affairs, according to Annemarie Thomassen, Programme Director of the Teacher Education Department of ICLON (Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching). 'If you visit the doctor, for example, you do not want to be attended by an unauthorized doctor,' says Thomassen in the RTL News (item starts at 10:55). 'It is very important that there are well qualified teachers in the classroom.'
Schools feel forced to employ unauthorized teachers because there is a shortage of qualified teachers. This holds especially for the subjects Dutch, Mathematics and English. The deficit has arisen due to the fact that many experienced teachers have retired and not enough new teachers are being trained.
'It is so important that we really need to take action now. This means that universities need to do something about admission requirements. Trade unions in secondary education must also address the shortage. We must all put our shoulder to the wheel,' said Thomassen.
- Video RTL Nieuws 9 September 2017 (item starts at 10:55)
- Article on rtlnieuws.nl