Philipsburg:--- The Minister of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture Silveria Jacobs told reporters at Wednesday's Council of Ministers press briefing that her Ministry is busy studying the causes of the low success rate of students studying in the Netherlands. The Minister announced last week that St. Maarten students in the Netherlands have success rate of merely 10%. Minister Jacobs said her Ministry is busy setting up a career choice center which will be geared at assisting students in the Netherlands with career guidance counseling. This new entity would also give guidance to students in their career choices. Minister Jacobs said that students who apply for study financing would also have to submit their portfolio so that government would have an indication of their strengths, interests, and their weaknesses.
The Ministry is also working on putting in place an intake assessment and psychology center in order to see if the students are mentally and socially prepared for their new environment and educational challenges. The Minister said while she believes government has to do more to support students studying abroad she also believes that the student, their parents and the schools have to do much more to prepare students that are interested in furthering their studies overseas.
The Education Minister said that students studying overseas are currently going through severe bouts of depression. She made clear that this is not an issue affecting St. Maarten students alone. "Recently, one or two students that are studying in the Netherlands ended up throwing themselves in front of trains." The Minister said her government is seriously considering following the students that are issued study financing much closer in order to increase the success rates.
The Minister also touched on what she described as the "brain drain" affecting students in the Netherlands and how hesitant students are to return to St. Maarten after completing their studies. Another aspect government will incorporate in the study financing applications is the "priority list". Minister Jacobs said students that are interested in careers that are available on St. Maarten will be the ones to get study financing.
When asked by SMN News if the Education Ministry intends to amend the study financing ordinance to ensure that students who acquire study financing must return to St. Maarten to serve their country for period of time. The Minister said that the study financing ordinance already gives students a 20% discount on their loans if they return to St. Maarten. The Minister said right now the government of St. Maarten cannot force students to return to St. Maarten after they complete their studies even though they are offering them incentives. She said currently the government is working on a new education law and in that new law she will add something to that effect. Minister Jacobs said some 20 years ago when she received her scholarship she had to sign an agreement to return to St. Maarten and serve the island for at least 5 years but she could not say if that was removed from the current study financing policy.
The Minister also mentioned that the government will be reverting to the old examination regulations. She said an urgent advice was sent out to annul the new regulation which is negatively impacting the HAVO/VVO examination students that are attending the Milton Peters College.