“I still haven’t received a call from the Education Ministry. I hope that my daughter can be placed at a Mulo school that is located near my home or workplace. I still have to buy school supplies but I do not know what I have to buy and which uniform I have to buy because some schools make it mandatory for their students to wear a uniform that has their logo on it,” said Nathalie Roos. Roos and hundreds of other parents expressed grave concern over the fact that their children still haven’t received a call from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture regarding a spot at a Mulo school. Another woman complained about sleepless nights as her son also does not know to which school he will have to go. “The school starts after three weeks and my son is eager to attend classes in the 9th grade but he is increasingly getting disappointed because he still has not been enrolled at a Mulo school.” All of the parents made it clear that they do not want their 11-year-old children to be put at a school that is hundreds of miles away from their home because that would mean that they would have to spend a lot of money on transportation. They also explained that they hope that the ministry also includes the construction of more classrooms and schools in its budget estimate for the school year 2024-2025. Sources indicated that the Ministry of Education plans on placing the students who did not find a spot at a Mulo school at one of the LBO schools. Although the LBO schools will be called AVO schools parents expressed concern over the fact that most of the subjects at these schools are taught at a beginner’s or intermediate level while the same subjects are taught at an advanced level at the Mulo schools. But in the 10th grade all of these students will have to take the state tests which means that the students from the LBO schools will be at a disadvantage when they take these state tests. Concerned parents explained that it is time for education officials to work with the statistics so that they can anticipate how many schools are needed in each region of each district. If the population is growing, it also means that more classrooms and more schools will be needed. “It is also called the Ministry of Science so they should address issues from a scientific perspective by working with the numbers.”…[+]