A teacher at the VMBO school Aloysius De Roosten in Eindhoven has been dismissed after giving unauthorised help to students during a German exam last Monday. Her dismissal will come into effect immediately. Corinne Sebregts, the head of the school, confirmed the news to local news outlet, Omroep Brabant. Seventeen students were affected, and all are required to retake the exam.
The school immediately ran its own investigation into what happened during the exam. The investigation found that a supervising teacher had offered a significant amount of help to a number of students. After that, Education Inspectorate, a governmental organisation that monitors the quality of education in Dutch schools, declared the exam invalid on Wednesday.
Exam declared invalid
Daan Jansen, spokesperson for Education Inspectorate, explains in what circumstances an exam can be declared invalid. ‘In this case, the students received help, but the inspectorate can also declare an exam invalid if, for example, someone becomes ill or if knowledge of the exam material was leaked prior to the exam. It is, of course, very sad when something like that happens, especially if it was not your fault.’ Education Inspectorate remains involved in the case as they try to reach a settlement with the school.
Angry and disappointed
The affected students and their parents were informed of the inspectorate’s decision on Thursday. The head of the school, Corinne Sebregts, says that they were angry and disappointed. ‘We understand their reaction,’ she says. ‘It is very annoying that this happened. You always hope that this will not happen in your own school.’
Regarding the teacher that offered the help to the students, Sebregts says, ‘we said goodbye to them. We had no reason to expect that this would ever happen, but what she did is not good.’
On Monday 17th June, the seventeen students may retake the exam. The exam forms a large part in determining whether or not the students will graduate from the school this year. This means that they will know their fate much later than many of their peers. Whilst their peers will hear on the 12th June, the other seventeen students will have to wait until 28th June.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translator: Rachael Vickerman
