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The proportion of young people aged 15–25 who attend some kind of education has risen from nearly 68 percent in 2003 to nearly 74 percent in 2009. It is compulsory for young people aged between 5 and 18 to attend school until they have obtained a basic qualification. Young people in the age group 18-27 are not automatically eligible for social security benefits if they no longer attend educational programmes and do not work either.

Educational participation among young people (15 to 25 years)

Considerable increase among 20 to 25-year-olds

Last year, 92 percent of 15 to 20-year-olds attended education versus 55 percent of 20 to 25-year-olds. In the period 2003-2009, the proportion of people attending educational programmes among 20 to 25-year-olds increased more rapidly than among 15 to 20-year-olds. The main reason is that the number of people aged 20-25 attending higher education is growing. The Dutch government seeks to scale up the number of higher educated and attempted to reduce the number of early school-leavers and raise the education participation rate.

In the period 2003-2009, the educational participation rate increased among young men and women. In the age category 15-20, more women than men attend some form of education, whereas in the age category 20-25, men constitute a small majority.

Astrid Pleijers and Doreen Ewalds

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