Visible progress at schools on the islands

The Daily Herald writes that the Dutch Inspection of Education is generally positive about the improvements that have been made in primary education on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, but is concerned about lack of progress in some areas.

The Inspection stated in the report The State of Education over the years 2012/2013, which was published in April 2014, that there have been “visible improvements” in the educational process. “Basic design conditions have been made in order (presentation, learning) and the quality of classes (pedagogic-didactic handling) complies with the basic quality,” it is stated in the report which will be handled in the Permanent Committee for Education, Culture and Science of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament today, Tuesday.

There were also concerns. “Almost all schools have to make great strides in the area of care, guidance and quality care in order to comply with the basic quality. The results for arithmetic and mathematics have shown a major progression, but the results for Dutch are severely behind and this will not change on short term.” The 238-page report on the state of education in the Netherlands dedicated less than one page on primary education in the Caribbean Netherlands. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science OCW drafted an Educational Agenda for the three islands after they became public entities of the Netherlands in October 2010.

The Educational Agenda for the Caribbean Netherlands ends late 2016 by which time all schools on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba should comply with the Dutch basic quality of education. “The trajectory is now halfway. The year 2013 was a year of an interim evaluation for the Inspection.

Ministers and the Second Chamber were informed about the quality development late 2013. “It is expected that a number of schools will be able to comply with the basic quality on August 1, 2016. Whether all schools manage to comply will depend on the progress in the area of care and guidance. The lagging quality of expertise centres education care and the lacking of facilities for special education are important impeding factors in this,” it was stated in the report.