Half of Dutch 'iPad only schools' turn back to books over high costs

More than half of the schools that switched, or seriously considered switching, to so-called Steve Jobs Education over the past years, have since switched back to standard education, the Volkskrant reports after surveying the 46 involved schools. Most cite high costs imposed by initiator Maurice de Hond as the reason for abandoning the iPad-only concept.

Participating schools pay a monthly amount of 9 euros per child. At an average Dutch school, that amounts to around 20 thousand euros per year, an amount many schools struggle to afford. Another common complaint is dissatisfaction with the education method. A number of schools complained that De Hond tried to force them into organizing the school in his way.

Currently 14 Dutch schools still use De Hond's O4NT method. When he launched the method in 2012, De Hond hoped that between 100 and 200 schools would use the method by 2016.

De Hond defended himself and his method to the Volkskrant: "Our method does not work if you only do it half-way. There has to be a well-structured approach, and that requires training and guidance, so money."