Far-right party school research was misleading, experts say

The research which led the government to put €507,000 into a primary school backed by far-right party Forum voor Democratie was flawed and did not include key information, experts have told the Volkskrant.

The Renaissance school opened its doors in Almere this school year with just four pupils, well below the number required for official funding. But officials agreed to back the school because research apparently showed there would be a demand for new schools in the area over the coming years.

However, Peter Kanne from market research bureau Ipsos I&O told the Volkskrant that the questionnaire did not tell prospective parents the school was allied to the party and instead asked general questions about their thoughts on education.

Some 35,000 invitations to take part in the research were sent to the homes in the Almere Oosterwold area – which is several kilometres from the school’s location.

In total 258 parents responded and 18 parents said they would like their child to attend the school, the Volkskrant said, after using freedom of information legislation.

That percentage is extremely low, making it impossible to determine if the research was representative, professor Tom Louwerse told the paper. “This research says little or nothing about the potential of the school,” he said.

Experts also criticised the questioning, in which parents were asked to choose options such as “a focus on reading and arithmetic” and “lessons five days a week” – which all Dutch schools offer. Nor did the survey mention that girls and boys will be taught differently.

The education ministry said in response to MPs’ questions earlier that all the rules for the research had been followed.

D66 parliamentarian Ilana Rooderkerk told the paper the school was launched “under false pretences” and has submitted a string of questions to the minister. “We need to ditch this sort of misleading research,” she said. “Children should never become the subject of a political project.”

An earlier attempt to open a Renaissance school in Almere, which was fully funded by parents and private sources, failed and closed in 2024.