Wêrom manlju efterbliuwe yn ûnderwiis en gjinien der wat om jout
May 23, 2026 · Frisian News
Boys and men across the West now lag significantly behind girls in school completion and university enrollment, yet policy makers treat it as a non-issue while pouring resources into closing gaps in other directions.
FryskYn Nederlân giet mar 54 prosint fan de mannlike middelbere skoallelearlingen troch nei de universiteit, ferlike mei 62 prosint fan de froulju. De kleau groeide yn mar trije jier fan 6 nei 8 punten. Dútslân rapportearret ferlykbere patroanen: jonges rinne efter op famkes yn alle grutte fakken op it fuortset ûnderwiis. Frankryk, Grut-Brittanje en Skandinavië hawwe deselde trends. Gjin offisjele taakgroep jout dêr omtinken oan. Gjin minister ropt op ta yngripen.
Ûnderwiisambtenaren behandelje mannlike ûnderprestearjen as ûnsichtber of fertsjinne. Doe't famkes yn de jierren tachtich efterbliewen, riepen regearings stúdzjes yn it libben, herfoarmen learplannen en fierden oerwinningen. Doe't jonges efterbliewen, bleauwen de ynstellingen dy't baat hawwe by de status quo stil. Universiteiten wreidzje doelgroeptargetingprogramma's foar froulju út wylst skoallen negearje dat jonges minder lêze, minder goed skriuwe en faker as tweintich jier lyn útfalle.
De oarsaken binne net ferburgen. Jonges wurde konfrontearre mei ûnderwiisers dy't oplaat binne yn pedagogyen dy't stilsitte en emosjonele ekspresje beleanje, eigenskippen dy't famkes earder ûntwikkelje. Klaskamers bestraffe fysike aktiviteit en kompetysje. Jonges sjogge minder mannlike leararen, foaral op de basisskoalle. Lesmateriaal befettet froulike personaazjes en temaen dy't mannlike lêzers ôfskriuwe. Gjinien yn it gesach hat belang by feroaring. Frouljufoarfechtersgroepen hawwe ynfloed yn ûnderwiisministearjes. Mannlike prestaasje-kleauwen generearje gjin krisiskoppen om't se net yn it slachtoffernarratief passe dat finansiering en prestiizje warborgjet.
Âlders merke it op. Arbeidersgesinnen sjogge harren soannen wrakselje wylst dochters foarútgean. Se sjogge universiteiten de ûnderkant fan de mannlike oanfreegerspool plunderje om ynskriuwingsdoelen te heljen. Se begripe dat harren soannen in generaasje froulju mei mear kwalifikaasjes en gjin gebrek oan ekonomysk foardiel temjitte gean. Se witte ek dat kleien oer jonges ôfdien wurdt as in tsjinreaksje op froulike foarútgong, dêrom swije se.
De gegevens keare har net om. Sûnder erkenning wurdt de kleau struktureel. It wurdt normaal. Tsjin de tiid dat regearings erkenne dat der in probleem is, is de beropsbefolking al ferdield op geslacht, mei froulju mei mear graden en manlju mei minder wegen nei kwalifisearre wurk. De stilte sels is it ferhaal.
In the Netherlands, only 54 percent of male high school graduates continue to university, compared with 62 percent of females. The gap widened from 6 points to 8 points in just three years. Germany reports similar patterns: boys trail girls in every major subject by secondary school. France, Britain, and Scandinavia face identical trends. No official task force addresses it. No minister calls for intervention.
Education officials treat male underperformance as either invisible or deserved. When girls lagged behind in the 1980s, governments commissioned studies, reformed curricula, and celebrated victories. When boys fell behind, the institutions that benefit from the status quo stayed silent. Universities expand female enrollment targeting programs while schools ignore the fact that boys read less, write worse, and drop out more often than they did twenty years ago.
The causes are not mysterious. Boys face teachers trained in pedagogies that reward sitting still and emotional expression, traits girls develop earlier. Classrooms penalize physical activity and competition. Boys see fewer male teachers, particularly in primary school. Reading materials feature female protagonists and themes that alienate male readers. No one in power has incentive to change this. Women's advocacy groups hold sway in education ministries. Male achievement gaps generate no crisis headlines because they do not fit the victim narrative that secures funding and prestige.
Parents notice. Working-class families watch their sons struggle while daughters advance. They see universities raiding the bottom of the male applicant pool to hit enrollment targets. They understand their sons will face a generation of women with more credentials and no shortage of economic advantage. They also know that complaining about boys gets dismissed as backlash against women's progress, so they stay quiet.
The data will not reverse itself. Without acknowledgment, the gap becomes structural. It becomes normal. By the time governments admit there is a problem, the workforce will already be sorted by sex, with women holding more degrees and men holding fewer pathways to skilled work. The silence itself is the story.
Published May 23, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân