Policy consultancy firm Ecorys submitted the evaluation report on the first Education Agenda for the Caribbean Netherlands. This Education Agenda dates from 2011 and is the guiding principle for the educational improvements between 2011 and 2016 on the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands (CN).
The evaluation was performed by Ecorys on the instructions of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science [Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (OCW)] and its objective is to review and provide insight into the effectiveness of the Education Agenda. However, it also is intended to look to the future and to gain input for the second Education Agenda.
A great deal of attention was given to the input of the stakeholders in the Caribbean Netherlands during the evaluation. The stakeholders were interviewed by the Ecorys researchers in February this year. The findings were subsequently submitted to the education stakeholders that same week. In April Ecorys presented the draft evaluation report on the islands.
Ecorys’ main conclusion was that very important results have been achieved in a short period of time. The fact that most schools have achieved basic quality proves this. The researchers argue that this a remarkable achievement, considering the starting situation in 2011. Ecorys concludes that all parties involved have worked hard over the past five years to achieve these results.
The minister and state secretary of OCW have already decided that there will be a follow-up to the Education Agenda. In order to realise a second Education Agenda which is supported by all parties, OCW takes a bottom-up approach with significant room for input from the education stakeholders.
For this purpose RCN/OCW has organised meetings with stakeholders on all three islands. Six priorities emerged for the coming period: further improvement of the educational care structure, more effective language education, a smooth transition of education into advanced training programmes and/or the labour market, further improve the quality of education and the education results, professionalism and continuity of board members, management and teaching staff and healthy financial management of the educational objectives.
The Ministry of OCW is currently working on a draft text of the second Education Agenda. Several additional sessions with the education stakeholders will take place in the coming months in order to further shape the contents of the Education Agenda. Following the recommendations of Ecorys, it is the ministry’s starting point to include realistic objectives in the second Education Agenda, geared towards the specific situation on each of the three islands.
The final version of the Second Education Agenda will be determined in the autumn during the third Education Conference, on St. Eustatius.