Education in the Netherlands

The Dutch are a highly educated people. The level of participation in education is high: of the Netherlands' 16 million inhabitants, nearly 3.5 million attend some form of educational programme. One out of three school-leavers now completes a first university degree.

Nevertheless, as a traditional centre of knowledge the country will face a number of challenges in the coming years, the most important of which are the need to make further improvements in the quality of education and to provide equal opportunities for everyone, variety of choice in education and specially tailored content and counselling. The greatest threat is the increasing teacher shortage in primary, secondary, university and professional education.

For more information about the Dutch education system, see the information file on Eurydice, the European education information network. The file provides a general introduction to the education system in the Netherlands. It also gives information about the Dutch political system and economy.

See also The Education System in the Netherlands 2007.

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