Record exam passes for mbo students

• Less than a quarter of people in Zeeland are higher educated
• Netherlands losing its lead in spending on higher education

These are a few conclusions from the Jaarboek onderwijs in cijfers 2011, an annual report with statistics on education in the Netherlands (published in Dutch only) released today. In the book, Statistics Netherlands has compiled a range of key facts about and developments in education. This edition pays special attention to regional differences in education levels.

Record number of mbo students pass final exams

Over 197 thousand students received a diploma in senior secondary vocational education (mbo) in 2009/’10. This is a record number. One important reason for this was a change in childcare legislation. Parents are only reimbursed for care by a childminder if the childminder has a diploma. As a result, the number of exam passes in the ‘care and welfare’ discipline was nearly four times as high in 2009/’10 as in 2008/’09.

Less than a quarter of people in Zeeland have higher education

There are large differences in education levels within the Netherlands. Over 41 percent of 25-64 year-olds in the province of Utrecht have a degree in higher education, compared with less than 24 percent of the same age group in the province of Zeeland.

Netherlands losing its lead in spending on higher education

The Netherlands spent over 9 thousand per student in higher education in 2010, almost the same amount as in previous years. Although this puts the Netherlands high in the OECD rankings, other countries, such as Germany, Belgium and Sweden, are catching up. The most recent international figures show that spending per student in higher education rose in many countries in the period 2000-2008.