‘Prospective teachers deserve internship allowance’

The General Education Union wants students in teacher training programmes to receive an internship allowance of 750 euros per month. That proposal is on the table during the collective bargaining negotiations.

These students rarely get paid for their internships, even though they increasingly have to deal with teacher shortages and teach independently.

Union president Tamar van Gelder calls it absurd that compensation for trainee teachers is not the norm. “Especially in these times of shortages, we need to roll out the red carpet for people who want to work in education.”

Petition

The primary and secondary education collective agreements expire in April and May, so negotiations are underway. In the commitment to the negotiations, the schools write nothing about trainees. According to the union, the employers are wary of the issue coming at the expense of the quality of education. Van Gelder makes a different assessment. “Trainees simply perform work, just like other teachers,” he says.

A petition containing the proposal has been signed 1,500 times. Part-time students, in particular, say they face financial problems due to the lack of internship allowances. (HOP, PvT)