Plenipotentiary Minister in The Hague Henrietta Doran-York has some good advice in today’s paper for local students who travel to the Netherlands on their own in an attempt to further their education. What prompted her to do so were “numerous troubling situations” she encountered among these so-called “free movers” from the island.
The reason is usually a lack of preparedness in terms of, for example, prior enrolment in schools and secured housing, which are both essential to meet their goals. They also don’t benefit from the information and training sessions offered to others by the Bureau of Study Financing to help them adapt to, among other things, the different social climate and cultural landscape.
Mind you, the argument is not that these youngsters shouldn’t go. After all, legal residents are privileged with not only the possibility to continue their studies in the European part of the Kingdom, but if they qualify can even receive a Dutch basic student loan and some facilities, including, for example, public transportation.
However, there are also many requirements to meet and doing so without proper guidance can prove a difficult task. These aspects should actually be arranged far ahead of travel to prevent problems later.
The St. Maarten House assists as best possible those who confront issues and end up there, but by that time it is often too late to resolve these. The Minister’s words of caution should therefore not go unnoticed among both students planning such a move and their parents.
In addition to being ambitious, “doing it yourself” in this manner demands focus, determination and discipline, while it obviously helps to know what to expect beforehand. As the saying goes, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
