WILLEMSTAD - It was still exciting whether the schools on Curaçao could open again after the summer holidays. Due to the rapid increase in the number of Covid infections, the government was forced to take extra measures. Schools opened their doors last week.
However, all secondary education students are now required to wear a face mask, even during class. Furthermore, all hygiene and safety measures are the same as last school year.
On the occasion of the opening of the new school year in Curaçao, the brand new Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Sithree 'Cey' van Heydoorn visited a number of schools on the island. In his own words, the school visit went well. “The only thing that worries me is the maintenance of various schools and the shortage of school materials, which means that teachers sometimes have to bring materials to school themselves,” says Van Heydoorn.
Money from the Netherlands
The poor condition of the school buildings has been a topic of discussion for some time. The Netherlands has allocated thirty million euros to Curaçao for the maintenance of educational accommodation on the island. However, only 500,000 euros of this amount has been transferred for the worst needs. According to the minister, we are waiting for the plan that will be drawn up together with the Netherlands on how the rest of the funds will be spent. There has just been some confusion about this.
For example, according to the minister, the emphasis is not on the maintenance of school buildings, but the consultant gives advice on what the schools should look like in the future. “This is very different from what the Dutch government had communicated in October, namely that this money would be used for the maintenance of the school buildings”.
The minister is working with the Netherlands on a baseline measurement, but no agreement has yet been reached on a plan of approach. Heydoorn: “Last week two representatives from the Ministry of Education from the Netherlands were on the island. We hope that the entire process will be completed by the end of October so that we can determine the action points for the 2021-2022 school year."
What the minister would like to see is that physical education continues, despite the Covid situation. “The university has conducted research into distance learning, which has shown that to make it successful, a lot still needs to be done on the island.”