Historical development

Starting with the 1999-2000 school year, a major restructuring of secondary vocational and general secondary education was implemented. These changes mainly affect VBO, the last two years of MAVO, the last two years of HAVO and the last three years of VWO.

In this school year, 1999-2000, MAVO and MBO have been officially classified in the same category of education known as VMBO (Voorbereidend Middelbaar Beroepsonderwijs) or preparatory secondary vocational education.

Depending on interest and capacity, pupils can choose from one of four learning tracks or routes:

 the theoretical route granting admission to long MBO or HAVO;

 the vocationally-oriented route granting admission to long training in secondary vocational education (MBO) or to short training programmes;

 a mixed educational route with a combination of general subjects and a vocationally-oriented subject; and

 a professional practice route, oriented towards the labour market and aimed at a specific group for which VMBO is the last educational stage.

An important result of the recent educational reforms regarding VMBO, HAVO and VWO is that pupils in the last two years of VMBO, the last two years of HAVO and the last three years of VWO have to complete the curriculum requirements for one of four subject clusters. VMBO pupils can choose between Technology, Health and Personal Care and Welfare, Economics and Agriculture. HAVO and VWO pupils can choose between Nature and Technology, Nature and Health, Economics and Society and Culture and Society.

Beginning in January 1997, a new national qualification framework for adult and vocational education (beroepsonderwijs) went into effect with four levels of training and two learning paths.

This new system incorporates the senior secondary vocational educational courses (MBO) and apprenticeship training courses (leerlingwezen) that had existed before. Under the new system, each level of qualification corresponds to a different type of course:

 assistentopleiding, training to assistant level lasting 6 months to 1 year,

 basisberoepsopleiding, basic vocational training (2-3 years),

 vakopleiding, professional training (2-4 years) and

 at level 4, middle-management training (3-4 years) and specialist training (1-2 years). Students can take these courses consecutively, the Diploma for one course serving to gain entry to the next.

3.2.

3.2.1. The right to education

One of the key features of the Dutch education system, guaranteed under article 23 of the Constitution, is freedom of education, i.e. the freedom to found schools (freedom of establishment), to organise the teaching in schools (freedom of organisation of teaching) and to determine the principles on which they are based (freedom of conviction). People have the right to found schools and to provide teaching based on religious, ideological or educational beliefs.

As a result there are both publicly run and privately run schools in the Netherlands.

Publicly run schools:

 are open to all children regardless of religion or outlook;

 are generally subject to public law;

 are governed by the municipal council or by a public legal entity or foundation set up by the council;

 provide education on behalf of the state.

Some publicly run schools base their teaching on specific educational ideas, such as the Montessori, Jena Plan or Dalton method.

Privately run schools:

 are subject to private law and are state-funded although not set up by the state;

 are governed by the board of the association or foundation that set them up;

 base their teaching on religious or ideological beliefs; they include Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindustani and anthroposophic schools;

 can refuse to admit pupils whose parents do not subscribe to the belief or ideology on which the school’s teaching is based.

Some private schools base their teaching on specific educational ideas, such as the Montessori, Jena Plan or Dalton method. Some 70% of pupils attend privately run schools.

The freedom to organise teaching means that private schools are free to determine what is taught and how. This freedom is however limited by the qualitative standards set by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in educational legislation. These standards, which apply to both public and private education, prescribe:

 the subjects to be studied,

 the attainment targets or examination syllabuses and

 the content of national examinations,

 the number of teaching periods per year,

 the qualifications which teachers are required to have,

 giving parents and pupils a say in school matters,

 planning and reporting obligations, and so on.

3.2.2. The Adult & Vocational Education Act (WEB)

Since 1996, the vocational education and adult education sector has been organised within the framework of the Adult & Vocational Education Act (WEB). The new structure has brought with it major changes and responsibilities of teaching institutions, national bodies for vocational education and independent examination bodies.

The objectives of this Act are:

 to improve the quality of education;

 to strengthen the ties with the labour market;

 to introduce a coherent qualification structure;

 to increase retention rates.

Broadly speaking the effects brought about by the WEB on the sector are:

 increase in scale and increased autonomy of teaching institutions;

 integration of previously separated work types in vocational education and training;

 new forms of co-operation between education and business and industry;

 educational innovation through the development of didactic methods such as independent and problem-solving learning, combined with the use of information and communication technology in the teaching process;

 the provision of tailor-made work to individual participants by means of a flexible range of courses, combined with intensive supervision.

3.3.

The Constitution places public and private schools on an equal financial footing. This means that government expenditure on public education must be matched by spending on private education. The conditions which private schools must satisfy in order to qualify for funding are laid down by law.