UG and NHL Stenden students help secondary school pupils prepare for exams

In the coming months, students of the University of Groningen and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences will help secondary school pupils to prepare for their final exams – a much-needed helping hand for many pupils as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. This support is part of the StudentinzetopSchool-Noord project for the three northern provinces, which will start on 13 April.

Extra support

Many secondary school pupils are falling behind as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Klaas van Veen, UG Director of Teacher Education: ‘Many pupils who are about to sit their final exams could use a little extra support. And that is exactly what the UG and NHL Stenden students are offering them. They will support the pupils in subjects that they are good at and which they themselves also took final exams in. This way, the students can use their own experience to help the pupils improve their final exam results, and at the same time relieve work pressure among schoolteachers.’

Willem Eikelenboom, director of the academie vo & mbo (secondary and vocational education academy) at NHL Stenden: ‘This project is not just intended for students of teacher training programmes, but for all students who are able to help. The initiative is a great opportunity to interest students in the teaching profession and to introduce them to the teacher training programmes. We hope that this experience will make students consider a career as a teacher, as the teacher shortage continues to be a problem.’

Work method

Students of the UG and NHL Stenden who have a Dutch senior general secondary (HAVO) or pre-university (VWO) diploma can sign up to provide support in a final exam subject that they are good at. Students from other institutes of higher education can also sign up. They will be offered a basic course in exam supervision and, if necessary, additional support from their own degree programme or education institute, after which they will be linked to a school. The students will be offered remuneration above the minimum wage. The support can be provided on location at the school or online.

Nationaal Programma Onderwijs

The StudentinzetopSchool-Noord project follows on from the Nationaal Programma Onderwijs (national education programme) that was recently introduced by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and ties in with the national StudentinzetopSchool project. The northern edition of the project is coordinated by a joint team from UG and NHL Stenden.