Dutch State Secretary orders improvements at Cornelius Haga Lyceum

State Secretary for Secondary Education Judith Tielen has issued a formal directive to the Stichting Islamitisch Onderwijs (SIO) to implement immediate improvements at the Cornelius Haga Lyceum in Amsterdam. This directive follows an inspection report that identified insufficient educational quality and mismanagement by the school's board.

The directive is the most severe legal measure available to the State Secretary to address mismanagement. As part of the requirements, the foundation must appoint two additional board members and develop a plan for financially viable improvements. The ministry will require progress reports every four weeks to monitor the situation.

The inspection highlighted low exam success rates; for example, the MAVO level saw success rates between 35 and 37 percent over the last three years, compared to a national average of approximately 92 percent. While the foundation has contested the findings of mismanagement and claimed exam results have improved, it acknowledged that certain aspects of educational quality require enhancement.