Education

Pupils with Turkish or Antillean background least likely to be recommended for HAVO or higher

The proportion of pupils in the final year of primary school who receive a definitive recommendation to go on to senior general secondary education (HAVO) or pre-university education (VWO) differs according to the children’s background, including their migration background. In 2016–17, 59 percent of pupils with a native Dutch background received a recommendation for at least HAVO. In the same academic year, 38 percent of pupils with a Turkish migration background received at least a HAVO recommendation; in the years from 2008–9 to 2014–15 inclusive, that percentage hovered around 30 percent.

A similar development is clear in pupils with a Moroccan background, the only difference being that for this group the percentages are four percentage points higher. In 2016–17, 45 percent of pupils with a Surinamese background and 38 percent of pupils with an Antillean background were recommended to study at least at HAVO level. For both groups, this represents an increase of four percentage points compared with the years from 2008–9 to 2014–15 inclusive. For pupils with other non-western backgrounds, the proportion who received at least a HAVO recommendation in the period from 2008–9 to 2016–17 hovered around 50 percent. There is virtually no difference between boys and girls in the likelihood that they will receive a recommendation to go on to at least HAVO, regardless of their background or migration background.

Noticeably fewer early school leavers among Turkish/Moroccan girls

The total group of young people aged 18 to 25 who have no basic qualification has declined significantly in the last ten years. The reduction is most noticeable among boys and girls with a Turkish/Moroccan background. The proportion of boys with a Turkish or Moroccan background who lack a basic qualification declined from 27 percent in 2007 to 18.8 percent in 2017; the reduction was even stronger among girls with a Turkish or Moroccan background: from 18.4 percent to 6.1 percent. This means that the proportion of Turkish/Moroccan girls who lack any basic qualifications was lower in 2017 than the proportion of boys with a native Dutch background and no basic qualifications.

Girls with a Surinamese or Antillean background are the most likely to have a basic qualification; 3.8 percent of this group lack a basic qualification, which is 0.6 percentage points lower than girls with a native Dutch background and 2.3 percentage points lower than girls with a Turkish/Moroccan background.

The percentage of girls with no basic qualification is lower than that of boys, regardless of their migration background. However, in 2017 the proportion of boys with a native Dutch background who lack a basic qualification (8.7 percent) is substantially lower than that of boys with a Turkish/Moroccan (18.8 percent) or Surinamese or Antillean background (11.5 percent).

A relatively large number of highly-educated people among persons with other non-western backgrounds

The majority of people from all origin groups are educated to secondary-school level. One exception to this trend is the population with other non-western migration backgrounds, of whom almost half are highly educated. The level of education is practically the same among people with a native Dutch background and second-generation Antilleans and Arubans, with 41 percent being highly educated. A third of second-generation Surinamese people are highly educated, a statistic which is almost ten percentage points lower than among the second generation of people with Antillean or native Dutch background. The proportion of highly-educated people among second-generation Moroccans and Turks is about one-quarter.