PHILIPSBURG--The St. Maarten Education Review Interim Report details many challenges, strengths and needs for improvement within the current education system.
This report was prepared by St. Maarten and Dutch education inspectorates that worked closely together with the primary tasks of conducting research and problem analysis, to formulate recommendations and to initiate blueprints for the implementation of the recommendations.
In the report the group described findings and recommendations for the St. Maarten education system. This report was completed in March.
System strengths
The reported identified teachers as the strength of St. Maarten’s education system. Several teachers who make an effort to give their students a good education and who have the desire to invest in the further development of their own professionalism were spoken to.
A strength acknowledged was English or Dutch as a language of instruction which “opens the opportunity for students to prepare for different types of education beyond secondary education and for a diverse range of jobs,” the report stated.
Challenges
One of the many challenges of the education system noted is the lack of adequate information to enable the relevant professionals to set priorities and steer a course towards improvements in education. Shortcomings within the educational process at several schools were noted. These include a lack of basic conditions to support students with extra educational needs, little focus on and support for a result-oriented approach or educational leadership, and little structural attention to teachers’ and instructors’ competence development.
Another challenge is presented by several barriers to a continuous educational path. “Childcare has no legally defined role in preparing children for primary education and the entry requirements of one school or sector do not always correspond to the outflow criteria of the ‘delivering’ school or sector,” the report stated.
The transition from secondary to tertiary education was also found to be often difficult. In many cases, students are insufficiently prepared; for example, in terms of the skills they need to successfully complete a study programme in higher education in St. Maarten or abroad.
The education sector’s connection to the labour market at home and abroad was labelled as problematic. Vocational schools have difficulty finding enough internships. “Employers on St. Maarten observe that many of the apprentices they work with are insufficiently equipped to enter the labour market,” stated the report.
There is a lack of adequate, relevant, and up-to-date legislation for schools. The same applies to the regulations by which the Inspectorate of Education operates. Several shortcomings related to governance within the education system and the financial and budgetary aspects in this field were noted.
Lastly, there is a significant lack of conditional resources, such as well-equipped school buildings and sufficient available staff.
Recommendations
Recommendations in the report concern improvements in the areas: better and reliable key figures, the improvement of education and strengthening of the system within which education operates.
Improving education
A recommendation for the short term was to provide direct support to teachers; for example, by appointing additional remedial teachers.
The report suggested developing a support structure for students with special educational needs, improving the vocational track of the education system by emphasising vocational value and by ensuring that the curriculum meets current labour market requirements, and improving the connection between (developments in) the labour market and educational programmes in tertiary education.
These were just some of the recommendations listed to improve education on St. Maarten.
Strengthening the
education system
It was advised to develop a mature governance structure, ensure up-to-date and adequate legislation, to organise an efficient and transparent budgetary system, to strengthen financial accountability, guarantee the basic conditions for good education and analyse inefficiencies in the education system.
Phasing and feasibility
of recommendations
Five recommendations that can be realised with a compact plan of action and targeted financing in the short term were identified.
Establishing a reliable and sustainable system for key indicators of educational performance. Supporting teachers by appointing (extra) remedial teachers. Fixing roofs and making other overdue repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Organising an efficient and transparent budgetary system. Examining inefficiencies in the education system.
Financial consequences
Financial consequences of the recommendations were not specified in the document. “Not every improvement costs money,” the report stated.
The recommendation to achieve a two-tier governance system with strong boards, good internal supervision and mature participation was a case in point.
“Decisions in areas such as monitoring and limiting the overhead at schools, the need to invest in the training and supervision of teachers and building maintenance are best made by a strong board that operates in close cooperation with its schools,” the report continued.
“Any available surplus of funds from the Country Reform Package should at least partly be channelled into making the necessary investments in education.
“It is important to foresee and calculate the financial effects of demographic and educational developments. … A decrease in the number of students will then result in higher expenditure per student,” the report concluded.
To fully realise the potential of this project, it was recommended in the report to make the data openly accessible to all relevant stakeholders.
