Submitting a complaint about an MBO or VAVO school
Do you have a complaint about your MBO (secondary vocational education) or VAVO (adult general secondary education) school? First, try to resolve the issue with your teacher or school board. If you cannot resolve the issue together, you can submit a complaint to your school’s complaints desk. Every MBO and VAVO school that receives government funding has a desk for complaints.
Last updated on 29 August 2025
Complaints desk online or in the office
Ask your school how you can submit your complaint. At some schools, you can submit your complaint via a website. At other schools, you can speak to a member of staff in the office.
If the school does not have its own complaints committee, it must be affiliated with a regional or national complaints committee.
Complaints desk will forward your complaint
The complaints desk will forward your complaint to the appropriate department. The time limit for submitting your complaint depends on the type of complaint.
If you have a complaint about the behaviour of a staff member at your school, about a teacher who is behaving inappropriately, for example, you must submit your complaint within one year of the incident.
If you disagree with a decision about your examinations, tests or binding study advice, you can appeal to the Commissie van Beroep voor de Examens(Examinations Appeals Board). You must do so within two weeks of the date of the decision. You then submit a written objection (appeal) to the complaints desk. They will forward your complaint to the Examinations Appeals Board.
Do you disagree with another decision made by your school? For example, if the school will not admit you to a course. Or if you have been expelled from school. In that case, you can file an objection with your school’s complaints desk. You must do so within six weeks of the date of the decision. The Dispute Resolution Committee will then handle your complaint.
More information about how your school handles complaints can be found in the students’ charter of the MBO school. The students’ charter includes information on how to submit a complaint, objection or appeal, and how long it will take to receive a response.
You can also ask your school’s confidential advisor how to submit a complaint. The education and examination regulations state who the confidential advisor is.
If you disagree with your school’s decision about your complaint, you can appeal to the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Raad van State (Council of State) (in Dutch). You must submit an appeal within six weeks of the date stated on the decision. You can only lodge an appeal if the Examinations Appeals Board or the Dispute Resolution Committee has ruled on your complaint.
