WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s vocational education system is facing a critical shortage of qualified teachers and practical training supervisors, according to the Education Inspectorate’s latest report. The shortage is having a direct and measurable impact on the quality of instruction, student guidance and examination procedures across the sector.
The Inspectorate reports that schools are struggling to attract educators with the required pedagogical, didactic and subject-matter qualifications. As a result, institutions increasingly rely on unqualified staff or employees reassigned from other roles simply to fill teaching hours. This leads to fluctuating lesson quality, reduced structure in the classroom and inconsistent support for students.
Problems are also mounting in practical training. Due to the lack of qualified supervisors, students are not consistently receiving the guidance needed to complete practical assignments, assessments and internships. According to the Inspectorate, this contributes to delays in study progress, higher dropout rates and weaker preparation for the labor market.
The shortage is part of a wider structural issue within the vocational system. Schools lack the capacity to properly execute internal quality assurance processes, meaning essential improvements are not implemented. This has created significant differences in quality between programs, leaving many students with unequal educational opportunities.
The Inspectorate calls the situation urgent and warns that without targeted investment in teacher recruitment, training and retention, the quality gap within Curaçao’s vocational education will only widen.