Experience with reward for teachers who want to work more hours

Minister Wirsma for Primary and Secondary Education wants to entice teachers who do not have full-time jobs to spend more hours in front of class. He will soon start an experiment in which teachers who work the most will be rewarded. In primary education, only a quarter of teachers work full time.

The amount and form of the stipend has not yet been determined and the participating schools have to pay the stipend themselves. The Ministry provides assistance in the selection and implementation of the reward formula.

“In many sectors, you see the same problems, this shortage,” Weersma said in the interview. Radio NOS 1 News. “So you can hope that a lot of new people will come into education. But the shortest hit is of course if you can help people in education extend their contract.”

Several variables are tested in the experiment. Wiersma is considering a bonus for educators who convert their part-time contract into a full-time contract, but it could also become an additional bonus for educators who transition from two to three or four work days.

“All those flavors are there,” says Minister Wersma. “And sometimes they also have legal flaws and you have to look at that carefully.”

The first results are expected in the spring. If the experiment is successful, the reward scale can be introduced in the 2023-2024 school year.

With this, he fulfills and draws the wishes of the House of Representatives, which previously insisted on a full-time bonus.

Schools wishing to participate must register before 1 December. Selection depends on the extent of the teacher shortage and whether there are many employees with a small part-time job.