Basic skills are considered the foundation upon which all pupils build their further education and careers. They are essential to function in a society which is increasingly ruled by misinformation and technology.

To face challenges for the decrease of basic skills’ competences, the Masterplan for Basic Skills was developed and highly prioritised within education policy. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders, developed this masterplan dedicating considerable funds towards assisting the implementation of these measures.

At the onset of the program, some causes for the decline in command of basic skills were identified. For instance, it seemed that school assignments were too plentiful, the curriculum itself was becoming outdated, and there was a discrepancy between theory and practice.

Moreover, the increasing impact of technology, and the decrease of practices such as reading and writing in their leisure time, cause that pupils do not practice basic skills enough outside of school hours. Furthermore, digitalisation has brought increased complexity to the developments of skills such as citizenship education.

To counteract and overcome these challenges and trends, the Masterplan for Basic Skills was developed around five main pillars:

• Investing in qualified educators;

• Enhancing knowledge and effective learning methods;

• Improving continuity and connection between schools and other institutions, such as libraries, and parents;

• Ensuring timely and effective monitoring of basic skills;

• Developing a clear and comprehensive nation-wide curriculum.

Since the start of the program, annual updates have been made on the progress. The latest update reports very positively on the progress that schools see in their pupils’ basic skills. These schools acknowledge and attribute this progress largely to investments they have been able to make with subsidies received as a part of the masterplan.

The conditions for the masterplan’s subsidies distribution have likely influenced this progress. For instance, the investments must be used to improve the quality of education for at least either language education or arithmetic-math. Most schools have employed them for both subjects and have invested in the knowledge and professionals available at their schools, ultimately sustainably improving their classes and pupil’s results.

Still, the update emphasizes the need to continue the work and promotes the continued application of the Masterplan for Basic Skills. To this end, it is foreseen that a complete recovery plan for primary education, with finetuned recommendations and the prospect of structural funding will be presented in 2025.

For more information: https://www.masterplanbasisvaardigheden.nl/masterplan-basisvaardigheden