Court says that too many children are not going to school due to religious beliefs

More and more children do not have to go to school because of their parent's beliefs. They have been granted an exemption from compulsory education, and the court in Amsterdam is concerned about this. The judges say that it is not clear whether the children are getting a good education at home. They, therefore, call for stricter checks on compulsory education.

This appeal was made by the court during a case regarding two people who did not let their daughter, born in 2017, go to primary school. They adhere to Sufism, a mystical and spiritual movement within Islam.

The parents did not want the girl to go to a Christian or Sunni Islamic school because this did not correspond with their beliefs. They felt a public school was too neutral. The girl could come into contact with other views there, and then she would not enter paradise, they believed. That is why they wanted an exemption.

The court said that it understands that the parents have a problem with primary schools that are based on a different religion. However, the court would not accept that the parents struggled with neutral public schools as their beliefs are not rejected there.

Although the parents are free to set up their own school according to their faith, the fact no such school exists currently does not automatically entitle them to an exemption. This is why the parents were issued a conditionally suspended fine of 300 euros.