During the past few weeks policy consultancy firm Ecorys performed an evaluation of the Education Agenda for the Dutch Caribbean on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius on the instructions of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science [Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (OCW)]. The Education Agenda dates from March 2011 and is the guiding principle for the educational improvements between 2011 and 2016 on the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands (CN). The objective of the evaluation is to back and provide insight into the effectiveness of all activities in the framework of the Education Agenda. However, it also is intended to look to the future.
The main objective of the Education Agenda was for the 21 educational institutions in the CN to achieve basic quality. The reports of the Education Inspectorate, which visits the local educational institutions twice a year, show that most educational institutions have reached basic quality by now. The evaluation by the agency Ecorys emphasises the question how these results were reached: what works well and what instruments are less effective? The evaluation should also show whether the results have been safeguarded adequately for the future. In order to realise this Ecorys has conducted many interviews. They spoke to many stakeholders on the islands of the CN and in the European Netherlands. On each of the three islands they concluded the evaluation round with a round-table meeting with representatives of all institutions involved. During these meetings the Ecorys researchers presented the information which they had obtained from the interviews and the translation thereof to points of attention for future cooperation. During group assignments the participants contributed to refining these points of attention.
In April Ecorys representatives will present the results of the evaluation to the parties involved on the islands and in the European Netherlands.