Dutch schools should pay more attention to integration: Education Inspectorate

Schools in the Netherlands need major improvements in their integration education, according to the Education Inspectorate, ANP reports.

According to the Inspectorate, Dutch schools are failing wit attempts to teach students about typical Dutch values, despite the fact that schools are required to pay attention to what it means to be a citizen of the Netherlands. Dutch schools' attempts to do so are too unfocused - activities seem unrelated to each other, there is no systematic approach and schools don't formulate what they want to teach their students.

The Dutch Education Law states that schools should pay attention to active citizenship, social inclusion and diversity. The Education Inspectorate calls for measures to be taken to ensure that this happens.

State Secretary Sander Dekker of Education wants Dutch schools to receive more support on this front. "Schools are struggling with this kind of education" he said according to ANP. "They need more guidance and clarity. Therefore we will add to the law that teachers need to give attention to our core values in the classroom."