THE HAGUE – The Dutch House of Representatives’ Committee on Education, Culture and Science will soon dive into a sensitive topic for the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom: the language of instruction and communication in education. 

Shortly after the summer recess, the committee will hold a roundtable discussion to explore the issue further. It remains unclear which stakeholders from the Caribbean will be invited to participate. However, several Dutch Members of Parliament have already registered to take part in the session, including: 

R.J. White (GroenLinks-PvdA) 

P.H. van der Hoeff (PVV) 

M. Tseggai (GroenLinks-PvdA) 

M.W. Haage (GroenLinks-PvdA) 

A. Kisteman (VVD) 

W.J. Koops (NSC) 

The roundtable will be held on September 4, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and will be streamed live on the official website of the Dutch Parliament. 

The discussion will partially coincide with a debate of the Kingdom Relations Committee, scheduled for the same day from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, during which State Secretary Van Marum will be present to discuss matters related to the BES islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba). 

The topic of language in education remains a highly debated issue across the Dutch Caribbean territories, where multiple languages—including Dutch, Papiamentu, and English—play varying roles in the education systems.