Rotterdam city council is setting aside millions of euros to attract more teachers to move to the city and work in more underprivileged areas, broadcaster Nos said at the weekend.

In particular, maths, German, physics and chemistry teachers will be eligible for a ‘welcome bonus’ of €5,000 if they move to the port city.

In addition, all teachers will be given a discount card for events and museums, there will be special bursaries for teachers and extra funding for courses, Nos said.

Qualifications

The shortage of teachers means that in some areas of the city up to 30% of school staff do not have what the government considers to be the appropriate qualifications to teach. Nationwide, the figure is 1.5%.

The Rotterdam plans are due to be outlined later on Monday. Rotterdam alderman Hug de Jonge told Nos the aim is to push teachers who are considering moving to Rotterdam into making the decision.

Other cities can see that Rotterdam needs to take action, he said. ‘I don’t expect them to turn against us if we use unorthodox methods to attract the best teachers.’

On Friday Amsterdam alderman Eric van der Burg called on unions and employers to include a ‘big city bonus’ when working out pay deals for teachers, nurses and police officers.