School System

Primary Education

Between the ages of four to twelve, children attend “basisschool” (elementary school; literally “basic school”). This school has eight grades, called “groep 1” (group 1) through to “groep 8”. School attendance is compulsory from group 2 (at age five), but as mentioned before almost all children attend school at four (in group 1). In general from group 3 onwards, children learn how to read, write and do mathematics. In group 7 and 8 many schools start with teaching English. In group 8 the vast majority of schools administer the “Citotoets” (developed by the “Centraal instituut voor toetsontwikkeling” to recommend what type of secondary education should be followed). Although this test has gained authority, the opinion of the school is still an important factor in the recommendation.

Secondary Education

Secondary education, which begins at the age of 12 and is compulsory until the age of 16, is offered at several levels. “Vmbo” programmes (four years) combine general and vocational education, after which pupils can continue in senior secondary vocational education and training (“mbo”) lasting one to four years. Two programmes of general education give admission to higher education: “havo” (five years) and “vwo” (six years). The “vwo” curriculum prepares students for university (only a “vwo” diploma gives access to universities). The “havo” diploma is the minimum requirement for access to “hbo”. The last two years of “havo” and the last three years of “vwo” can be seen as a second part of secondary education. During these years, besides the general education requirements, pupils focus on one of four subject clusters (“profielen”). Each cluster is designed to prepare pupils for programmes of study at the tertiary level. A student can choose from the following subject clusters:

• Science and Technology (“Natuur en Techniek”)

• Science and Health (“Natuur en Gezondheid”)

• Economics and Society (“Economie en Maatschappij”)

• Culture and Society (“Cultuur en Maatschappij”)

Dutch secondary education has a norm for the minimum number of hours a pupil has to have lessons. This norm is determined by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In the first phase (first three years) the norm is 1040 hours. For the later years (up from year 4) this norm is lower (e.g. 1000 or 700).

Senior Education and Training (“mbo”), Secondary Vocational

Senior secondary vocational education and training (“mbo”, “middelbaar beroepsonderwijs”) includes the areas of economics, technology, health, personal care, social welfare and agriculture. “Mbo” programmes vary in length, from one to four years, and in level (1 to 4). Graduates of “vmbo” programmes have admission to “mbo”, and a completion of “mbo” programmes at level 4 gives access to “hbo”.

Higher Education

Higher education in the Netherlands is offered at two types of institutions: research universities (“universiteiten”) and universities of applied sciences (“hogescholen”). Research universities include general universities, universities specializing in engineering and agriculture, and the Open University. Research universities are primarily responsible for offering research-oriented programmes. Universities of applied sciences are primarily responsible for offering programmes of higher professional education (“hoger beroepsonderwijs”, “hbo”), which prepare students for particular professions. Since September 2002, the higher education system in the Netherlands has been organized around a three-cycle degree system consisting of bachelor, master and PhD degrees. At the same time, the ECTS credit system was adopted as a way of quantifying periods of study.