News Projects Social Improvement
2 min.
Good news for the Curaçaoan school system, because the island’s Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sports (Onderwijs, Cultuur, Wetenschap en Sport, or OWCS) Sithree van Heydoorn has announced that the central Dutch government has informed him that just over €5.6 million will be made available for major maintenance work at three schools on the island, those being Kolegio Erasmo at Kaya Havana in Willemstad, the Skol Dr. Nelly Winkel for special needs education in the Comanchestraat in Willemstad, and the Cola Debrot School in Buena Vista (Willemstad). The money is part of the National Package Curaçao, which already contained about €30 million for the refurbishment of schools on the island.
Preceded by thorough preparations
Despite the importance of the money for Curaçao’s school system, it has taken about a year before the additional funds could officially be announced. It was essential for all the parties involved to be aligned in terms of the destination of the money and its management. The Curaçaoan Ministry for OWCS has been made responsible for the management and distribution of the money, which means that the Ministry has to make sure that the funds are used to catch up on overdue maintenance of several school facilities on the island. This decision has gone hand in hand with the introduction of new rules for the maintenance standards of school facilities. The idea is to bring all of the facilities up to date with the help of the money from the National Package and to then maintain them periodically in order to keep them at those levels permanently.
“Education is enormously important, it’s the foundation on which you build your entire life”, says Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation Alexandra van Huffelen (Staatssecretaris voor Koninkrijksrelaties en Digitalisering), “You should be able to receive that education in a nice and comfortable building. That’s why the European Netherlands have freed up funds as part of the National Package. I love to see that the first three schools will now reap the benefits of this”.
Only the beginning
Like State Secretary Van Huffelen, Curaçaoan Minister for OWCS Van Heydoorn is delighted with the funds and their implementation as well. He is most pleased with the focus on a sustainable maintenance plan for Curaçaoan schools on the long term and the safety measures that are being taken. “Our children have a right to good education”, Minister Van Heydoorn explains, “The schools have to be accessible and safe for both students and faculty. I’m proud of the preparations that have been executed under the management of my Ministry, and I want to express my gratitude to the central Dutch government and all of the school councils for their contributions. This is only the beginning. The preparations for the maintenance of several school facilities will continue. Quality education is a priority of our government, so we have to keep investing in it for our students and our teachers”.
The basis for this article was originally published on www.dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl and others in October 2022.
