The shortage of teachers remains high, and the number of lateral entrants is still at a record high

The shortage of teachers and school leaders is and will remain significant in the coming years. Minister Bruins and State Secretary Paul wrote this in a letter to Parliament. The shortages occur in primary education, secondary education and secondary vocational education. The problems are greatest in big cities.

The number of lateral entrants is still high. These are teachers who want to teach in another subject or sector or are retrained as teachers from another profession. Even before they have completed their training, they can often gain experience in the classroom. This course is part-time and lasts two years.

Primary schools will be short 7,700 full-time teachers this year. That is more than 2,000 fewer than last year, but according to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the decrease is temporary. This is because schools have been able to catch up on corona arrears in recent years with money from the National Education Program.

School leaders previously announced that this money was mainly used to temporarily hire additional teachers. The program runs until the end of this school year and the teachers who were temporarily appointed additionally will soon leave.

It is expected that the shortage of teachers in primary schools will initially decrease slightly in the coming years, but will then increase again and be higher than it is now. This is because the number of students is expected to increase, more school leaders and teachers will retire in the coming years and there are many alternative jobs.

Just like last year, there is a shortage of 3,800 full-time jobs in secondary schools. Shortages in subjects such as mathematics, German and Dutch are expected to increase in the coming years. This is due to the declining interest among students to become teachers or lecturers.

In secondary vocational education there is a shortage of between 900 and 1400 full-time jobs. MBO was included in the study for the first time this year.

To tackle the education shortages, the government wants to increase the number of lateral entrants. In 2024, 2,244 lateral entrants worked in education, compared to 2,285 last year.

“Teacher training courses are essential for the quality of our education. We continue to work on making these courses attractive, for both initial students and lateral entrants,” Minister Bruins writes. “For example, together with trainers and the professional group, we ensure a curriculum that is more in line with future teaching practice in schools.”

To this end, the government is working on education regions. These are partnerships between school boards, teachers and teacher training colleges, among others, with which starting teachers and school leaders can be trained and guided.