Timeline of Dutch Policies on Education and Gender

10 December 1948

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declares that “everyone has the right to education”

1960s and 1970s

In the 60s and 70s, developing countries experienced a rapid expansion of primary and secondary education driven by the assumption that an educated workforce intensifies economic development. At the same time, however, the increasing demand for education and steep population growth resulted in a price surge for education. As a response, several countries adopted Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) which implied cuttings from public education spending. Moreover, there was a shortage of qualified teachers as a result of the rapid rise of education, which led to the employment of untrained personnel, especially in developing countries. In addition, these countries had disputed curricula and lacked appropriate textbooks and learning materials.

In this time period, Dutch aid to developing countries focused on:

• knowledge sharing (to reduce illiteracy)
• knowledge maintaining (by consolidating media)
• bridging the gap between the North & South through education (abroad).

The SNV (Dutch Development Organisation) was used to recruit teachers for secondary schools and vocational schools to teach in African and Asian countries. In 1976 the last two Dutch teachers were recruited and posted at girls’ secondary schools, respectively in Loitokitok and Kibabii. Because of the “Kenyanization of Education” the Kenyan government was no anymore interested to receive personnel aid from the Netherlands SNV for postings of teachers. The contrary was the case for Tanzania. Under the rule of Julius Nyerere and his “Ujamaa” politics, Tanzania became a “donor darling”. Many Dutch teachers were posted at mostly vocational- and secondary schools.  

1980s

The 1980s were characterized by recession in rich countries which was simultaneously spreading to developing countries. The structural adjustment programs (SAPs) of developing countries experienced cutting expenditures. The main challenges were untrained teachers and a lack of materials.

20 November 1989

Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) declares that Education is a specific right for Children.

As a signatory of the UDHR and UNCRC treaties, the Netherlands had to comply. It agrees with the statement of Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen that “…a denial of access to quality education is in itself a form of poverty”. The Dutch government believes that education plays an important role in sustainable poverty reduction both for individuals and for nations. 

Late 1980s

As opposed to the steep rise in the previous decades, by the end of the 80s, the spur in education stagnated while the quality declined. Drop-out rates were increasing, access to education declined, and the urban-rural / male-female gap, already wide, widened. By the end of the decade, 25% of school-age children in developing countries were not attending school. An even more striking fact is that 40% of school-age girls were not attending in the same countries.

And although the reduction of financial allocations has been the main reason for these shortcomings, other important causes were:

• a lack of political commitment and leadership;
• a lack of education policy and legal frameworks;
• weak capacity at the planning, managerial and operational levels;
• insufficient capacity to monitor and evaluate education development efforts;
• the absence of reliable and gender-specific educational statistics; and
• neglect of people’s basic learning needs and a disregard for the relevance of education to people of diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

At the start of the 90s, education and training were expected to accelerate development and eradicate poverty by (1) increasing people’s income and (2) employment opportunities.

5-9 March 1990 Jomtien, Thailand

The World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) took place sponsored by UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, and The World Bank. It was during WCEFA that for the first time the aforesaid challenges were tackled. This conference introduced a new framework that highlighted the (1) social, (2) developmental, and (3) economic functions of education. 

WCEFA framework identified and addressed:

• basic education including both early childhood and adult education;
• the problem of gender disparity;
• education quality and benefits (as opposed to efficiency)
• new learning approaches: active learning; developmental education; Child-Friendly Schools concept;
• significance of rational policy planning and development.

During the 1990 WC-EFA, aid for education was improved: Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) were being replaced by Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers with the aim of fostering better communication between local stakeholders and external development partners. As a result, public donors were invited to research and formulate innovative and flexible means of cooperation.

1992

In 1992, the total annual basic education expenditure of the Netherlands amounted to 9 million euros. 

1993

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a policy document titled Development Cooperation and Education in the 1990s. This paper advocated for an increase in aid for basic education – a move that many claims to have clearly been inspired by the Jomtien WCEFA three years earlier, which called for improved education aid. Only since 1993 can we speak about education aid.

1999

The 1993 Dutch education policy was updated, this time with the policy document Education: a basic human right. Development cooperation and basic education: policy, practice and implementation. The policy document declares that “[The Dutch policy on basic education’s] aim is to ensure high-quality basic education, which is accessible and relevant to all, opens up opportunities for the most disadvantaged sections of the population, and contributes to a more democratic and equitable society”.

Through this revised policy proposal, the Ministry intended to deepen the policy on basic education and improve the effectiveness of aid for education. This was in response to several international events (including the preparations for the second WCEFA) as well as to changes that were taking place inside the Ministry itself, such as the delegation of tasks to embassies and the commitment to a sectoral approach to development aid. The new policy underlined that governments were to be responsible for basic education, yet civil society is also a crucial actor, who is encouraged to cooperate with governments in the matter.

For the period between 1999-2009, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 5th policy article was: ‘Increased human and social development’ which was specifically detailed under operational objective 5.1: “All children, youth and adults have equal opportunities to undergo quality education, which provides the necessary skills and knowledge to participate fully in society”.

26-28 April 2000 Dakar, Senegal

The Second World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) took place in Dakar. For the time being, still, a significant amount of work remained to be done on the education targets set by the conference.

During the Dakar conference, the Dakar Framework for Action prepared one of the most extensive evaluations of education ever undertaken, which materialized in the Education for All (EFA) 2000 Assessment. Education was described as including learning to know, to do, to live together, and to be. Education in literature almost always refers to primary and secondary education, most often formal and public education. The EFA 2000 Assessment provided a detailed analysis of the state of basic education around the world. The assessment identified that the greatest challenges were to be found in sub-Saharan Africa, in South Asia, and in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Even though there were some improvements, the work was not yet done. Six new measurable EFA goals were set for the next 2015 WCEFA.

6-8 September 2000 New York, USA

At the Millennium Summit Heads of State and Government unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration, which contained a statement of values, principles, and objectives for the international agenda for the twenty-first century, setting eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Two of these MDGs – to which the Netherlands was committed – were directly applicable to basic education:

MDG 2: Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to

complete a full course of primary schooling (universal primary education), measured by:

• net enrolment ratios in primary education;
• the percentage of pupils who start at Grade 1 and finish the entire cycle; and
• the literacy rate in 15–24-year-old men and women.

MDG 3: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by

2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015, measured by:

• the ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

The Dutch government spent €156 million on education aid in 2000.

2001

Since basic education was central to the MDGs formulated in 2000, the Dutch parliament voted for the Hessing (VVD) Motion to increase aid expenditure for basic education to 15% of overall Dutch official development assistance (ODA) within the next 6 years. This led to a sharp increase in spending, facilitated by education sector budget support and contributions to the Fast Track Initiative (FTI).

2002

In response to the call for cooperation, the Education for All – Fast Track Initiative (EFA–FTI) global partnership was set up, with the close involvement of the Netherlands. FTI was established during the April meeting of the Ministry to merge this proposal with G8 discussion about a partnership to support EFA.

FTI’s main goal was to accelerate progress towards quality universal primary education. Since the launch, the Netherlands has continued to be an active donor of the FTI. Financially, the Netherlands contributed 23% of the FTI funding.

2003

The policy document “Committed to Each Other” was published in which the then-minister of Development Cooperation set out the general policy priorities for the following years. Education – including literacy, basic education, low-level vocational training – was one of the four priority areas. There has been a sharp staff increase in the Social Development Department (DSO) to support education policy and programming initiatives.

2004

Deep insight has been provided by the minister into the Dutch policy on basic education in a letter sent to the parliament which was supplemented by the Local Solutions to Global Challenges: Towards Effective Partnership in Basic Education joint evaluation paper. In this document, the minister declared that more attention will be accorded to vocational training and education, non-formal education and adult education and literacy.

2006

In 2006 the UNICEF’s Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition (EEPCT) program was launched – a four-year partnership between UNICEF and the Dutch Government.

April 2007

In 2007, the DSO planned to publish a new policy document emphasizing an integrated approach to education, however, no policy paper materialized, only a fact sheet on education in the month of April. Even though this wasn’t presented as an official policy paper, this fact sheet can be considered as an update of the Dutch policy on basic education.

October 2007

In October, the new minister introduced a new policy on development titled “Our Common Concern: investing in development in a changing world.” This document did not recognize education as a priority area anymore, but as a field closely related to new areas of interest – fragile states, equal rights and chances for women, and growth and redistribution.

In the same year, a downward trend can be identified as a result of the de-prioritization of basic education. A sum of € 658 million has been allocated to education in 2007. The previous 6 years (which was aiming for the 15% target) has certainly driven education expenditure – the FTI program allowed the Netherlands to direct its education scheme beyond the countries where it had development cooperation partnerships. And, while the 15% target was considered to be a move in the right direction, it was actually never quite reached, and some even stated that it never would be reached.

2008

In 2008 the Ministry's overarching objective was: “All children, young people and adults should have equal opportunities to go through a cycle of quality education that provides them with the necessary skills and knowledge that permits them to fully participate in society”. This was seen as a step toward accepting that both young people and adults (not only children) need to develop personally and socially. Another noteworthy remark is that this statement removed the specification “both boys and girls”.

 2010

In 2010 the Ministry, in its attempt to phase out education, announced further reductions in the development assistance budget from 0.8% of GDP to 0.7% in 2012. These dramatic changes would have consequences for funding the basic education programs.

In 2010 also two main reports came out, assessing education:

1. IOB:

• Education matters: Policy review of the Dutch contribution to basic education 1999–2009
• This report evidenced the gains from Dutch development cooperation in the area of education. However, its publication was delayed to November 2011 (on purpose apparently?) since the current government was decommissioned at the time.

2. Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR):

• “Less Pretention, More Ambition”
• Only this report was made public and became part of the policy. The positive assessment of education in the IOB Evaluation report on Education was shelved. The WRR report sought to justify the October 2007 choices. The report argued that ‘…education’ alone cannot promise economic development but has to be part of a larger initiative. Education was deemed to have a secondary role. New policy priorities emerged: (1) water (2) food security (3) human safety & fragile states (4) SRHR. According to this report, even if education positively affects poverty reduction initiatives, the Netherlands still has no comparative advantage over other donors.

2011

The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) published a report with specific recommendations on education. The report recognizes the importance of investing in quality education for development, but it considers that the focus on access to primary education in the last decade has “caused a great deal of harm”. Moreover, the report also states that “the Netherlands primarily provides a lot of support to education and healthcare because it has always done so: usually there is no more reasoning behind it than that.”

2012  – 2017

In 2012 the government decided that education has to be phased out completely, all programs must be shut down and education advisory staff was to phase out. It actually took approximately 4 years to complete this process to complete financing and implement contractual obligations.

As a result, drastic changes took place. Bilateral education programs decreased, were handed over to the receiving countries, and phased out. From 31 staff members in the education department and education thematic experts in the field in 2009, only one person remained at HQ by 2017.

In 2014, all remaining funds were directed to Global Partnership on Education (GPE), and the Rutte II government did not take up Education as a priority area either. Educationalists were trying wholeheartedly to keep some initiatives alive by personal connections and by introducing educational activities under the SRHR policy priority – if you don't have the money you try to create opportunities.

In 2016 the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) program was established during the World Humanitarian Summit. ECW consisted of international humanitarian and development aid actors, along with public and private donors, who wanted to reposition education as a priority on the humanitarian agenda. 

Concurrently, the Syrian crisis led to an increased need for education for the refugees, as education helps them stand on their own feet and prepare for the future.

2017 – present

As part of Rutte III government in May 2018 Minister Sigrid Kaag (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) put education back on the development policy agenda of the Netherlands with the policy document “Investing in Global Prospects”. 

Education programs received renewed support:

• Global Partnership on Education (GPE); Education Cannot Wait (ECW);
• Nexus Programme was introduced with the aim of improving prospects for young girls and boys through education, jobs, and the link between the two in the following countries: Somalia, Lebanon, Jordan, Ethiopia, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal.
• Together with international organizations, the Netherlands continues to support the PROSPECTS Partnership for hosting refugees of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
• Generation Unlimited
• International Finance Facility for Education
• Malala Fund, UN, (I)NGOs, Multilateral Banks, Global Education Forum,
• COVID-19 responses

It is interesting to notice a change in landscape. In the past, the international health sector experienced some fragmentation, while the education sector operated in a more joint manner. However, nowadays the education sector can be characterized by a number of new initiatives. As such, education has become part of a fragmented landscape in which partners are competing for funds.