Education Minister admitted to hospital

Minister Arie Slob for Primary and Secondary Education was admitted to a hospital in Zwolle on Wednesday due to a bacterial infection, Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science said to parliament on Thursday, AD reports.

Van Engelshoven is therefore replacing Slob in the parliamentary debate on the debacle surrounding the final exams at VMBO Maastricht. The debate was initially scheduled for Tuesday evening, but couldn't happen because Slob became ill.

Slob presented with "severe flu symptoms", the Ministry said on Tuesday. But it turned out to be more serious.

Van Engelshoven wished Slob a speedy recovery. "He is well taken care of in the hospital", she said in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, on Thursday. Parliamentarians also expressed well wishes for the Minister.