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EMPO master's students in conversation with minister Dijkgraaf

23 September 2022
Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf sat down with students of the new Educational Master Primary Education (EMPO) last Friday at VU Amsterdam to discuss their motives, ideas and concerns.

"With this new master we want to contribute to the quality of primary education by increasing diversity in school teams. The students learn to contribute to educational improvement from different substantive perspectives." said project leader Anne Fleur Kortekaas-Rijlaarsdam.

The new master's, EMPO, is offered by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in cooperation with the UvA and Leiden University. The new full-time university course trains students to become primary school teachers in two years and started in September with some 25 students. In addition, students from a similar master at Erasmus University, also called EMPO, were also present to talk to the minister. 

During the talk, Minister Dijkgraaf addressed the great scarcity of good teachers. "They are teachers who make the difference that makes you learn to read, calculate and write, who give you a helping hand when you need it for a while and who ensure that after completing your education, you can apply for a job with confidence. If there are not enough good teachers, the quality of education is at risk. For school leaders, teachers, pupils, students and parents, the shortage leads to a lot of stress, powerlessness and discomfort. I am therefore also glad that these programmes are doing their bit and training young, enthusiastic teachers to solve this problem." 

Students questioned the minister about the role of universities in solving societal problems such as the teacher shortage, how academically trained teachers can be retained for primary education and equity in education. The students are concerned about the grading of academic teachers, diversity in education and their role in it. College president Mirjam van Praag was very inspired by the discussions: "It is great to see how many students are eager for the teaching profession. I am also very proud of the cooperation with the UvA and Leiden University with which we have developed this new master's degree. Good to hear that Minister Dijkgraaf is involved in the important problem of the teacher shortage and I am therefore curious to see how he takes the questions of today's students into the future."

Want to know more about the new master EMPO? Then click here (page in Dutch). 

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