For the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), Budget Day is all about continuity and clarity, with a few changes. Good news is that the cut in the education opportunity scheme will be reversed. On the other hand, OCW does contribute to government-wide cuts.
Expenditure in 2026
In total, OCW has 57 billion euros of expenditure in the budget for next year. Of this, 29 billion is for primary and secondary education, 18 billion for further education, 4.6 billion for study financing, 2.7 billion for culture and media, and 1.8 billion for research and science.
Continuing on its chosen path
Minister Gouke Moes: "The House has asked the cabinet to look after the shop properly. That is what I am going to do. Education, culture, media and science are crucial for our country. We will continue on the path we have taken. With cuts where we have to, but also with extra money where we can and need it. This is essential for education in the region; in the Netherlands, it should not matter where your cradle is. Everyone should have access to good education. For example, next year we will spend more money to preserve good education in regions where the population is shrinking."
Maintaining education in the region
The government wants all students everywhere in the Netherlands to have enough choice and the range of study programmes to match what is needed on the labour market. This will not happen automatically, because declining numbers of students threaten to make important studies disappear. Therefore, in 2026, the cabinet will allocate 30 million euros for the MBO in shrinkage regions, and 26 million euros for the HBO in regions where there is a shrinkage.
Cuts
The initiated cuts remain, except for those on the education opportunity scheme. Government-wide, the cabinet does decide to make additional cuts. There will be less price adjustment for all departments. For OCW, this means that there will be less money to compensate schools and cultural institutions, for instance, for the increased prices of energy and housing. Exactly how much OCW will have to cut will be known at the Spring Memorandum 2026.
In addition, the cabinet plans to cut the incidental wage margin nationwide from 2029. For OCW, this means that from that year onwards, less money will be added to the budget for, among other things, additional rewards for teaching staff, such as one-off bonuses.
Cuts to education opportunity scheme reversed
The cabinet is reversing the cut in the education opportunity scheme, partly at the request of the House of Representatives. This will be paid for with the previously explained government-wide cuts.
The Educational Opportunities Scheme allows secondary schools to provide additional support to children at risk of educational disadvantage. For example, schools can employ an extra teaching assistant, organise smaller classes or work on parent involvement. At the presentation of the Spring Memorandum, it had previously been decided to halve the money for the educational opportunities scheme (totalling €177 million per year) in 2027 and scrap it completely by 2028.
State secretary Koen Becking: "I am relieved that the cut in the education opportunity scheme is off the books. This will allow secondary schools to continue giving students the extra support they need. In addition, we will continue full steam ahead to tackle the teacher shortage and strengthen students' basic skills."
Improve basic skills
The government wants to further improve the basic skills (reading, writing, arithmetic, digital literacy and citizenship) of pupils in primary and secondary schools. Schools receive concrete help in this respect from the Basic Skills Master Plan. Teachers, for instance, get more time to increase their subject knowledge. Extra attention is paid to reading, writing and arithmetic.
In the MBO, incoming students are given extra brush-up on language and maths where necessary. A total of EUR 47.2 million is available for this purpose, for the current and coming academic year.
Tackling teacher shortage
There is still a huge shortage of teachers and school leaders. That is why the cabinet is earmarking 272.4 million euros for this in 2026. The cabinet wants to continue cooperation in education regions in order to train and retain teachers in the right places in the country. After all, the shortage is not equal everywhere. Next year, OCW will also invest extra in lateral entry, in which people become teachers from another profession. Over €54 million per year is available for this. 5 million is available for teachers who want to work more hours.
Panorama Mesdag Rijksmuseum
Special news this Prinsjesdag for Dutch heritage, and for Panaroma Mesdag in particular. This museum, with its famous cylindrical painting with a circumference of 120 metres, is in dire financial straits. To keep it open to the public, Panorama Mesdag aims to become a Rijksmuseum. To this end, €1.8 million is budgeted annually.
Strong education and research programmes extended
To contribute to new world-class research in our country and strengthen education, three National Growth Fund programmes are entering the next phase. These are the Development Power programme (for sustainable educational improvement in primary and secondary education and mbo), the Npuls programme (for future-proof education with digitisation) and the National Growth Fund programme Biotech Booster (for scientific breakthroughs in the field of biotechnology). For these, €77 million is budgeted for 2026.
