The Education Inspectorate has visited far fewer primary schools than promised to the House of Representatives for years. Members of parliament will debate this on Thursday, April 10, with Minister Eppo Bruins and State Secretary Mariëlle Paul of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The plenary debate can be followed from 1:45 PM via the livestream and the Debat Direct app.
The Education Inspectorate had promised in 2007 to visit every primary school every four years, but this did not happen between 2014 and 2021. This was reported by the current affairs program Nieuwsuur after its own investigation. After 2021, the inspectorate abandoned its commitment.
Insufficient Information
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science was not informed about this shortage of visits. As a result, it could not provide the correct information to the House during these years. The House assumed all these years that the inspectorate had kept its promise.
In a letter to the House, Mariëlle Paul, State Secretary for Primary Education and Emancipation, expressed regret over this incomplete information provision. She also stated that she would focus extra on improving the information provision of the inspectorate.
Hearing
The Education, Culture and Science committee decided to invite the inspector-general of the Education Inspectorate, Alida Oppers, for a hearing following these reports. During a meeting on January 16, the committee members discussed the number of school visits by the inspectorate.
Read More, Follow Live, and Watch Again
- Follow the debate from 1:45 PM via the livestream or External link:Debat Direct. Via Debat Direct you can also watch the debate later.
- View the documents related to this meeting.
- Watch External link:the hearing of January 16 again.