Netherlands invests €87 mil. into equal chances in education

Education Minister Jet Bussemaker is investing 87 million euros over the next three years into tackling inequalities in education. The money is intended to make sure that children of poorly educated parents get the same opportunities as children from a higher social environment, NOS reports.

Earlier this year the Education Inspectorate released a report stating that children with the same talents soometimes don't get the same opportunities in school - the family into which you are born still plays a big roll in your education.

Bussemaker and Education State Secretary Sander Dekker plan to do something about this. They call it unacceptable that the differences between children sometimes get bigger in school instead of smaller. "We are committed ot education in which all students feel at home and get the best out of themeselves, regardless of their home situation, talents or background", they wrote in a letter to parliament.

Some of the extra money will be invested in bridging classes, designed to give students just that extra bit of help to push them to a higher education level. Children with poorly educated parents will also be getting extra guidance. And so will poorly educated parents. Parents who struggle with their Dutch will be offered language classes, so that they can better guide their kids, read school letters and become more involved with their kids' schools.

From next year 1 million euros will be invested into connecting higher education students to high school students in need of a role model. Students attending university or college will help encourage high school students who are from a family in which higher education is not the norm.