Largest rise for spending on secondary vocational education

According to Statistics Netherlands’ education  yearbook (available in Dutch only), Dutch spending on education amounted to nearly 30 billion euro in 2006. This is 5.3 percent more than in 2005.

Spending on higher education relatively high in the Netherlands

In 2006, the government, private sector and households together spent 29.9 billion euro in education. Nearly 90 percent of this amount was earmarked for educational institutions. In recent years, government spending on secondary vocational education (mbo) in particular has risen. One reason for this increase is that the number of students in this type of education has risen. In addition, central government has spent extra money on preventing pupils leaving school before they have a basic qualification.

In Europe the Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest spending on institutions of higher education (hbo and wo) per student. This includes spending on research. After correction for inflation, spending on higher education in the Netherlands rose by less than average in the EU, however.

Spending on institutions of higher education per student, 2004

Schools have more than enough money

In terms of finance, most educational institutions in the Netherlands are apparently doing well. Net assets of all schools for secondary, vocational, and adult education rose from 5.8 billion euro in 2001 to 6.7 billion euro in 2005. Schools can us these assets to finance future spending.
The financial position varies substantially between individual schools, however. According to the norms of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, a number of schools have been building up more reserves than necessary for a number of years now.

Net assets per level of education

Cost of mbo diploma rise by most

In 2005 educating a pupil to preparatory secondary vocational education (vmbo) level cost on average 77 thousand euro. Educating a student to a university degree cost 134 thousand euro.

Since 1998, spending on all levels of education has risen after correction for inflation. Spending on an mbo diploma rose by most: 21 thousand euro; the cost of a university degree (wo) by least (14 thousand euro).

Spending per diploma

Daniëlle Andarabi-van Klaveren