Caribbean education does not sufficiently align with higher education in the Netherlands

Education on the Caribbean islands does not adequately prepare students coming to the Netherlands to study, warns the Education Council in a new report. Language skills, in particular, pose a major challenge: a good command of Dutch is essential for pupils wishing to study in the Netherlands. However, those heading to another Caribbean island or to the United States must, in fact, be proficient in Papiamento or English.

The islands face specific vulnerabilities, the authors write: the schools are small, are located far from the (European) Netherlands and do not have the same access to resources and support. And this has consequences: around a quarter of young people from the Caribbean Netherlands who go on to study in the European Netherlands drop out early, mainly due to language problems.

 Please for more Dutch teachers on the islands

The Education Council is therefore calling on the Minister of Education, Culture and Science to improve education. It is important that this is done in a way that suits the specific situation of the islands. Applying the same rules across the whole of the Netherlands sounds fair, but in practice it leads to inequality.

Among other things, the Council advocates for additional investment in Dutch teachers on the islands. In addition, schools themselves could offer supplementary Dutch lessons to pupils who wish to study in the Netherlands.  (HOP, NB)