Education Minister Mariëlle Paul has demanded that the school must put its affairs in order within four weeks at Klein Amsterdam primary school in Noord. Before then, the board must come up with an action plan to improve the very poor quality of education and to remedy the ‘mismanagement’.
According to the minister, the board has ‘failed to do everything it can to solve the problems’. According to the ministry, the measure that Paul is taking is exceptional and the ‘toughest legal instrument’ possible, but the minister sees no other option. “I therefore hope that the board will take its responsibility and take care of this as quickly as possible.”
Bad review
The primary school received a ‘very weak’ rating from the education inspectorate last year. The inspection spoke of ‘mismanagement’ because the school board would not do enough to improve education and because there is no financially healthy situation to catch up on backlogs.
After the summer holidays of 2023, the school board decided to close its doors, much to the dismay of parents, students and teachers. They protested the closure and felt abandoned. “My children are happy here, that is the most important thing for me,” said one of the parents. A large group of parents protested the decision, and the director left.
After a second visit, it appears that the school has not done enough to remedy the situation. The school was given until June this year to improve and get rid of that assessment. After meetings and information evenings, two new directors have now been appointed to get things in order, but so far without success.
Minister Paul now wants to know earlier how the problems should be solved, because she believes not enough action is being taken to improve matters. If the board does not come up with a recovery plan within four weeks, the minister can stop the school’s subsidy. In addition to the action plan, Klein Amsterdam must provide a monthly report on its financial situation for a year.
Parents satisfied, minister not
After the poor assessment from the education inspectorate, the then director announced that he would do everything he could to keep the school open. However, in October she decided to pull the plug, because it could no longer be saved. According to Minister Paul, the management has still not shown enough improvement. A previous director, who took office in November and has not worked at the school since February, previously informed AT5 that the two inspections last year took place in the ‘old situation’, but that he was going to change course.
A new director has now been appointed who, according to parents and others at the school, is now changing course. Within four weeks, management must be able to show the minister how a new course will be charted.
Tags: Minister Education intervenes management Klein Amsterdam primary school
