Dutch primary schools shed the equivalent of 6,000 full-time jobs last year but will have to make further cuts in 2012, according to research by accountancy group Deloitte, quoted in the Volkskrant.

Deloitte looked at the finances of some 300 schools and says the number of teaching and support staff has gone down 5% since 2010. At the same time, pupil numbers have shrunk by just 1%, leading to bigger classes.
Most primary schools now make a loss, Deloitte’s Sjirk Huizinga told the paper. Not only do they get less money from the government but the increase in value added tax and energy costs will add to the problems, Huizinga says.
‘The government is not adapting to reality,’ Huizinga is quoted as saying.
Dutch schools are financed according to the number of pupils they have.
It is unclear from the Volkskrant’s report on whose behalf Deloitte carried out the research.