Secondary school admission is a milestone in a child’s life. Students who transfer from primary school to secondary school in the Eindhoven region in 2024 could end up in a lottery system.
Thankfully, almost all schools in the region have agreed about the draw and allocation of students. This is the first-ever cooperation of this nature to set up a central lottery using the Boston algorithm. A notary will watch over this lottery. Previously, only schools with more enrollments than available places had a lottery system. Earlier, if a student applied to a lottery school, he/she applied to another school as well. After the admission week, the student would then be initmated from both schools and it could be that the student was accepted in both the schools. Thus, the timeline for admissions could be delayed. The new centralised cooperative lottery system will make the process simple and straightforward.
Now, when a student is drawn for his first choice of school and not selected, she enters the second round if the second choice is also a lottery school. In this way, the schools in the region want to get as many students as possible to their preferred school without some schools becoming too busy and the quality of education declining.
‘There is no other way’
Director Martin van den Berg of the Christiaan Huygens College says the lottery system is unavoidable. “Ideally you would prefer not to have a draw and every student can simply go to the school they prefer. Unfortunately, education in the region is so full that we have no choice.”
Earlier, there were draws at the Augustinianum and the Huygens Lyceum. “There are two things going on at the Huygens Lyceum. We have a form of education that apparently appeals to many students. And we are also in an area for which, for many students, we are simply the nearest school.”
And the Huygens Lyceum is operating beyond capacity. “We now have room for 1,050 students, and we now have 1,200. Indeed, we need another school in the area where we are located. We are discussing this with the municipality, but it is not yet clear whether and when that will happen,” says Van den Berg.
Some students may be exempt from the lottery, for example, if a (half) brother or sister already attends the same school or a parent works at the school in question. Other admission requirements also remain in force.
The system will be applied in Waalre, Veldhoven, Valkenswaard, Son en Breugel, Oirschot, Eindhoven, Best, Heeze-Leens and Nuenen, Reusel – De Mierden, Eersel, Bladel and Bergeijk. Global College, Secondary Special Education and Practical Education do not participate in the lottery system.
For Eindhoven News: Beena Arunraj
