17 December 2025

Funding for education in Caribbean Netherlands is inadequate

Schools in Caribbean Netherlands receive insufficient funding, causing their financial position to deteriorate year after year. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by Economic Bureau Amsterdam (EBA) on the adequacy of funding for primary and secondary education in Caribbean Netherlands.

In addition to the funding being inadequate in 2023, the current funding system does not sufficiently take into account differences between schools and between the three islands. For example, it does not account for the large numbers of newcomers or for students with additional support needs.

EBA advises increasing funding in the short term within the existing funding framework to address acute problems faced by several school boards. In the longer term, it recommends working towards a new funding system that adequately reflects the differences between the islands and between schools.

The full report is available below (Dutch only).

Read the report

Equal opportunities, adequate funding

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