Education Minister Marja van Bijsterveldt-Vliegenhart will be on the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba from March 21st until March 25th. During this first familiarization visit the Minister will visit primary, secondary and vocational schools and will speak extensively with school boards and school managers regarding the targeted quality improvement in education on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Also, meetings and discussions will be held with the Commissioners of Education.
On March 20th and 21st the Minster will visit Saba. She will be on St. Eustatius from March 21st until March 23rd. Bonaire is her final destination, where on Friday March 25th the first Education Conference for the Dutch Caribbean takes place. On this occasion the Minister will present the education agenda for the Dutch Caribbean: "Working together on quality". The objective of the education agenda is to record agreements regarding strengthening the quality of education in all schools on the islands.
All three islands are Public Entities since October 10th 2010 which function as special municipalities within The Netherlands. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for the education policy on the islands. This means that schools in the Dutch Caribbean are part of the education system in The Netherlands. Students will get the chance to obtain a diploma that is equivalent to a diploma that is issued in The Netherlands. The different points of departure, also among the three islands, this is the reason why for the coming period a different approach has been chosen for the Dutch Caribbean.