Millions government is pushing into disadvantaged schools not yet helping: CPB

The 375 million euros the government pushed into making working in schools in less prosperous neighborhoods more attractive for teachers has not yielded much so far, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CBP) said in a report on Tuesday. In the 2021/22 school year, the first of two years that amount will cover, the grant had “no major effect on the inflow, outflow, and retention of teachers at these schools. They also did not work more hours,” the CPB said.

The allowance is intended to reduce the inequality of opportunity between children in different schools and help catch up with backlogs created by the coronavirus pandemic. Previous research showed that schools in less well-off neighborhoods and with students who need more attention struggle even more from the teacher shortage than schools in wealthier districts.

While the allowance did not result in more teachers for “disadvantaged” schools, it did result in higher wages for teachers working there, the CPB said. Their average hourly wage rose by approximately 6.5 percent more than colleagues at schools that did not receive the allowance.

The agency added that it is “too early to draw firm conclusions about the actual effectiveness” of the allowance. “The measure was announced very shortly before it came into effect. Schools and teachers may have reacted differently to the measure if it had been announced earlier. The temporary nature of the measure may also influence its effectiveness,” the CPB said.

The CPB will map out the effect of the allowance again once it has the data for the 2022/23 school year. “This follow-up study will provide a more complete picture of the effects.”

The government allocated a further 68 million euros to the allowance for the autumn of 2023 and 165 million euros for the calendar year 2024.