WILLEMSTAD.- In the future, the “EFO toets” will no longer serve as a determining instrument for a student’s admission to any level of advanced education. This can be concluded from a letter issued by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport. According to this letter, education is one of the government’s concerns as per the Curacao State Agreement. However, when making decisions, the Minister responsible for this portfolio considers the legal frameworks and the positions of all other actors in the sector.
End of the school year 2023-2024
The admission decision for a Havo or VWO school in the first year is based on the educational report mentioned in the Foundational Education Act. This effectively forms the basic rule for admission to Havo or VWO. Article 1 of the educational report provision of foundational education clearly indicates that the educational report provides basic information about a student’s performance and educational possibilities, and based on this, the flow towards advanced education takes place.
A student who has only been admitted to the first year of VSBO level based solely on the educational report continues to be educated in one direction unless the student receives admission to a vocational school. In the case of students who have received advice to go to Havo, they can investigate their abilities to pursue that level of study, also approaching the ‘EFO-toets’. For students who have received advice for VSBO, the decision remains in the hands of the student’s parents if they allow the child to participate in the ‘EFO-toets’. Students who have received advice for VSBO based on their educational report can make the transfer based on that advice. The examination of their abilities is not a requirement for admission to VSBO.
The role of EFO
According to the ministry’s letter, the EFO will continue at the end of the school year 2023/2024, but it should only be used for the purpose for which it was developed, as an instrument, along with the educational report, for a student who is being admitted to the first year of Havo. By the way, according to the law, an investigation into a student’s abilities for the first year of Havo/Vwo can only result in the child being fit or unfit for admission to that level of education.
EFO cannot yield results: VSBO, AGO, nor can it return to foundational education or be denied admission to advanced education. This is something that goes against the law.
End of the school year 2024-2025
Taking into account everything related to the admission from Foundational Education to Advanced Education, the following decision was made for the school year 2024-2025: The EFO will no longer be maintained as a complementary instrument at the end of the school year 2024-2025 to base the admission to the first school year in Havo or VWO. However, parents will be informed at the end of the school year what they can expect, meaning that admission to any form of advanced education at the end of the school year 2024-2025 will be based solely on the educational report, which has its legal basis in a ministerial provision
