The time primary school teachers have to spend on administrative duties is disproportionate and takes away from teaching tasks, according to a questionnaire sent to 800 teachers by national broadcaster NOS and regional broadcasters.

Some 700 teachers completed the questionnaire about the pressures of work in primary schools. The respondents were asked to choose from a number of factors which increase their workload. Some 36% of respondents put administrative duties, such as updating student files and using student monitoring systems at the top of their list while another 29 % put admin in second or third place.

Having to deal with too many children with behavioural problems came far lower down the list with 15% while overcrowding in the classroom was cited by 13%.

Many teachers feel that numbers have taken over the core teaching tasks of schools and surveys, evaluations, social-emotional questionnaires and testing systems abound, NOS found.

Fewer children per class and teacher’s pay will figure in the cabinet formation talks but teachers indicated their work would be far less stressful if the paperwork could be kept down at a reasonable level.

Solutions

According to teachers’ union AOb, which conducted its own survey into teachers’ working conditions, solutions for the administrative overload include fewer children per class and a class assistant to do part of the paperwork.

The union also thinks schools should trust teachers to do their job. Teachers are trained professionals who shouldn’t have to account for every little thing, according to the AOb.

Parent’s organisation PO-Raad told the NOS that ‘the government is trying to get away with spending as little as possible. That is disastrous for teachers and students alike’.

The organisation says more money should be spent on digital teaching material which can relieve the pressure on teachers, and computerised monitoring systems that work together.

Meanwhile, a group of 33,000 primary school teachers have threatened strike action if the situation is not remedied during the formation talks.

Ministry

An education ministry spokesperson told NOS that ‘no one ever became a teacher to fill out forms’ but that the stress experienced by teachers could not all be blamed on the rules set by the ministry.

‘The way schools handle administration varies greatly. Some schools have a school plan which fits on an A4 sheet of paper while others need big fat folders,’ the ministry claimed.

The ministry has promised to scrap unnecessary rules and talk to unions and education organisations about the effect of rules on workload. ‘In a number of schools we have a programme in place which helps to prioritise administrative rules. Other schools will benefit from the outcomes too,’ NOS quotes the ministry as saying.