Teachers and other staff of schools with many disadvantaged pupils can count on a temporary salary increase. That came out today. A targeted action to provide extra support to children who have been hit hardest by corona. The measure taken by outgoing Minister Slob for Primary and Secondary Education will certainly have an effect, experts say. But there are also doubts.
“We know that the teacher shortage is greatest at challenging schools,” says Inge de Wolf, professor Education Systems at Maastricht University. “Pupils there need the best teachers the most. Research abroad shows that it is very effective to make work at disadvantaged schools more attractive by, among other things, salary increases. This leads to more teachers, who also change schools less often.”
“Good teachers make a lot of difference to students at those kinds of schools,” agrees Frank Cörvers, professor of the educational labor market at Tilburg University. “At other schools, students are fine.”
Two years
The salary increase is for the next two years for teachers in both primary and secondary schools with many disadvantaged students. On average, they receive an extra 8%. “The fact that it is incidental money, for two years, makes it more effective to a limited extent,” De Wolf thinks. “You can expect teachers to leave for other schools in two years’ time. It is therefore not a sustainable solution, but it is good for eliminating corona backlogs.”
“It’s a decent salary bonus. Some teachers will think, I’ll stay longer at this school, despite the fact that it’s a bit harder to teach,” says Cörvers. “But it’s a short-term solution. When that bonus ends, the small effect that will be there will be lost.”
But the temporary wage increases can also be a first step, thinks Inge de Wolf. “If we see that it works, it may also be that there will be structural salary increases.”
“We do not yet know whether this policy will be continued,” says Cörvers. “Minister Slob has said that it is up to the next cabinet. By that time you have to take a good look at it and evaluate whether and how well it works.”
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