MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Nearly half of the Dutch primary schools do not receive extra funding as they have accepted less than four refugee children, a poll by the Dutch School Leaders Association (Algemene Vereniging Schoolleiders, AVS) revealed Thursday.
Of the 218 Dutch schools with enrolled refugee children that took part in the poll, 91 have fewer than four refugee pupils and therefore do not qualify for extra financial resources to help children who do not speak Dutch to adjust, the AVS said. Half of the schools with larger numbers of migrant pupils have not received additional funding so far.
"It is completely unclear why schools with fewer than four refugee pupils get no money. The ministry will not give us a clear answer," AVS head Petra van Haren said in a statement.
On average, it costs up to 9,000 euros [$10,000] annually to help each refugee child adjust to their new environment and acquire a basic knowledge of Dutch, it was noted in the statement.
This creates a disadvantage situation for children studying at schools that accept one to three refugee pupils, van Haren stressed.
