A fresh batch of Dutch Caribbean high school graduates with study financing arrived in the Netherlands this week to continue their education. Many consider this annual exodus an undesirable form of “brain drain” that the islands can ill afford. It’s true that a number of these students fail to complete their programmes, while others who do often choose to remain abroad because of more opportunities, higher wages, better social benefits, etc. Some returning with degrees can’t seem to find meaningful employment and/or fit in either, for a variety of reasons.
However, offering all conceivable advanced studies locally on such a limited scale simply isn’t realistic. Besides, leaving especially a small community to experience living on one’s own in a bigger and further developed country for several years can be very eye-opening and contribute significantly to personal growth.
Studying within the region nevertheless has its benefits regarding familiarity and feeling more at home, as long as it’s affordable. The Dutch Government making basic student loans available for the European part of the kingdom obviously plays a major role in that sense.
The efforts in St. Maarten to promote closer alternatives nevertheless seem to be paying off considering the decreasing number of students heading for the Netherlands, from well over 100 not too long ago to just 34 this year. In comparison, Curaçao sent 165 there and Aruba even 200-plus.
Of course, governments need to be cost-effective with public funds, so getting a decent “return on investment” in terms of qualified professionals for whom a need exists is important, but ultimately the interest of each individual student should prevail. The “best and brightest” among the youth deserve a reasonable chance to truly become “all that they can be.”
