Parents Turning into "Customers" Fuels Disputes in the Netherlands
According to a report prepared by the government's independent education council in the Netherlands, parents are increasingly falling out with schools and turning to dispute committees to resolve their complaints. It is stated that this situation stems partly from parents being turned into "customers" in an education system where they can compare and select schools using publicly available data.
The council, which investigated the issue upon the request of the former education minister, shared its findings on Thursday. Although the tension between parents and schools is generally attributed to social media, polarization, and an increasingly individualistic society, the report points out that the decisive role of laws and policies in pitting the two sides against each other is being overlooked.
Policy changes, especially the 2014 "passend onderwijs" (appropriate education) reform, have increased the tension by requiring parents and schools to agree on whether a child qualifies for additional educational support instead of relying on an external committee. In addition, websites allowing parents to compare schools based on performance data such as exam pass rates and the percentage of students recommended for pre-university education have also created a "customer-service provider" dynamic in education. While the number of secondary school teachers who state that dealing with parents causes them stress is steadily increasing, one-third of teachers in primary schools complain about the same issue.