Education
Education provides opportunities in the labor market, broad social cohesion, language learning, cultural exchange, and participation. Access to education is therefore an important indicator of integration.
Insights
Few opportunities for education and training in the Education Route if you are over 30
The Education Route is part of the mandatory integration program. The aim of the Education Route is to prepare you for full-time study at MBO level 2, 3, or 4, HBO, or WO. During the Education Route, you will follow a language transition program. You will learn Dutch at language level B1 or higher and prepare yourself for further education.
In our research and projects, we see that there are few opportunities for education and training for newcomers to the Education Route who are over 30. See, for example:
Perspective of integration program participants, research for SZW
Young people who need more time to learn the language do not fit into the Education Route and thus end up in the Z Route.
The Education Route prepares you for full-time study at the secondary vocational education (MBO), higher professional education (HBO), or university (WO) level by means of a language transition program.
Young people who are able and willing to prepare for higher education but need more time to learn the language end up in the Z-route. This was evident, for example, from our research into integration in Almere.
Parents' lack of knowledge about the Dutch school system.
Parents have little knowledge about the Dutch school system. This makes it difficult for them to guide their children within the system and to have effective conversations with the school to support their children's development.
>> Homeschooling buddies
>> Monitoring and Evaluation Himilo Foundation
There is a lack of information about the Dutch education system.
How it works here, what levels of education there are, what the difference is between MBO, HBO, and university, what the options are for studying if you are over 30 years old,whatDUO is and what student finance is, and which organizations are there tosupportnewcomers with these questions. The Dutch education system differs from the education system that newcomers are familiar with in their country of origin.Attentionalso needs to be paid to these differences.
Newcomers who fall victim to fraudulent language schools often do not know their rights and start paying off their debt.
In such cases, debts can be written off under the ELIP scheme, but key figures point out that newcomers are often unaware of this.