University teacher training enrolment surges, reverses trend

University-level teacher training programmes in the Netherlands are seeing a notable increase in popularity this academic year, reports De Telegraaf. According to Universiteiten van Nederland (UNL), the number of new enrolments rose from 2,065 last year to 2,284 this year, reversing a year-long downward trend.

The rise is evident in both primary and secondary education programmes. “It’s very good news that we’re managing to turn the tide,” UNL Chair Caspar van den Berg told De Telegraaf. “In recent years, universities have invested heavily in expanding and diversifying teacher education programmes. That is now beginning to pay off.”

Among the initiatives is a pilot programme launched in several regions that allows career switchers – who have not studied Dutch at the university level – to earn their teaching qualification for Dutch in secondary schools within three years. Jacobijn Olthoff, director of teacher education at the University of Amsterdam and chair of the National Council of University Teacher Training Programs, told De Telegraaf that the shift is significant.
Full report on the NL Times site