Courtesy : Master of Education
Terms and school holidays
In general, all schools in the Netherlands observe a summer holiday, and several weeks of one or two-week holidays during the year. Also schools are closed during public holidays. Academic terms only exist at the tertiary education level. Institutions are free to divide their year, but it is most commonly organized into four quadmesters. # ISO certification in India
The summer holiday lasts six weeks in elementary school, and starts and ends in different weeks for the northern, middle and southern regions of the country to prevent the national population from all going on vacation simultaneously. For the six-week summer holidays of all high schools, the same system applies. Universities have longer holidays (about 2 months, but this may include re-examinations) and usually start the year in late August or early September. The summer holiday is followed by a one-week autumn holiday in the second half of October at all levels except for most research universities. At elementary and high school levels, the week depends on the north/middle/south division also used around the summer holidays. There is a two-week Christmas holiday that includes New Year’s in the second half of December, and a one-week spring holiday in the second half of February (around Carnival). The last school holiday of the year is a one- or two-week May holiday around 27 April (Kings Day); sometimes including Ascension Day. Easter does not have a week of holiday, schools are only closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday. The summer holiday dates are compulsory, the other dates are government recommendations and can be changed by each school, as long as the right number of weeks is observed.# ISO certification in India
Criticism
The Dutch educational system divides children in educational levels around the age of 12.the last year of primary school, a test, most commonly the “Cito Eindtoets Basisonderwijs”, is taken to help choose the appropriate level of secondary education/school type. Although the ensuing recommendation is not binding, it does have great influence on the decision making process. Unless caretakers identify the need, in most cases an IQ test is not given to a child, which may result in some children who for various secondary reasons do not function well at school, but who do have the academic ability to learn at the higher levels, mistakenly being sent to the lower levels of education.Within a few years these children can fall far behind in development compared to their peers who were sent to the higher levels.[citation needed]# ISO certification in India
It is possible for students to move up (or down) from one level to another level. If there is doubt early on about the level chosen, an orientation year may be offered. However, moving up a level later on may require a lot of extra effort, motivation and time resulting in some students not reaching their full potential.[citation needed] # ISO certification in India
Research has shown that 30% of gifted children are (mistakenly) advised to attend the VMBO, the lower level to which 60% of twelve-year-olds are initially sent. In this particular group of children there is a higher than normal percentage of drop-outs (leaving school without any diploma).
Although IQ testing may aid to reduce mistakes in choosing levels, research has also shown that IQ is not fixed at the age of 12 and may still improve with exposure to the proper educational stimuli, which the current Dutch system by design (early separation into levels) may fail to provide.
Another area of concern is that although parents have the right to have their voice heard in the school’s decision making process, not all parents make use of this right equally, resulting in unequal opportunities for children.
A recent study by the University of Groningen has also shown strong correlation between lower parental income and advise given to students to follow lower education https://kansenkaart.nl/maps/schooladvieslager
The Programme for International Student Assessment has found that the Netherlands’ educational standing compared to other nations has been declining since 2006, and is now only slightly above average. School inspectors are warning that reading standards among primary school children are lower than 20 years ago, and the Netherlands has now dropped down the international rankings. A similar trend is seen in arithmetic, maths and science.# ISO certification in India
