WILLEMSTAD – The number of children with special educational needs in Curaçao’s primary special education system has increased by approximately 73 percent in just five years, putting growing pressure on schools, specialized teachers and support services.
According to an assessment by the Education Inspectorate, the number rose from 983 children to 1,704. The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (OWCS) confirmed the figures on April 23, 2026.
The increase comes as Curaçao’s education sector begins a new academic year and looks ahead to what classrooms should look like a decade from now.
During the opening conference of Dienst Openbare Scholen in Otrobanda this week, approximately 900 public education employees gathered under the theme “Mi ta Outéntiko.” One of the subjects discussed was “the classroom of 2036,” a shared vision for Curaçao’s education system over the next ten years.
However, the latest figures on special educational needs highlight challenges that schools are already facing today.
The Education Inspectorate has found that demand for support is growing faster than the available capacity. This is contributing to pressure on special education schools and care services, waiting lists, delayed placements and shortages of specialized teachers.
The 73-percent increase does not necessarily mean that Curaçao has experienced an equivalent increase in the number of children with disabilities.
OWCS has identified several possible explanations, including improvements in diagnosis and recognition of special educational needs, increasing mental and psychosocial pressures on children and families, insufficient early identification and pressure within regular schools that can result in more children being referred to specialized education.
Regardless of the cause, the increase means that substantially more children are currently identified as requiring additional educational support.
That also places greater demands on teachers and schools. Regular classroom teachers cannot necessarily provide specialized assistance without additional expertise, while schools have limited ability to address waiting lists when specialized capacity is unavailable.
OWCS has acknowledged that improvements are necessary.
The ministry is working on further developing regulations governing special primary education, improving selection and placement procedures, reviewing funding and capacity, and strengthening cooperation between education, healthcare providers and families.
The challenge will be translating those policy measures into additional capacity that children and schools can actually access.
With 1,704 children now identified as having special educational needs, the discussion is increasingly shifting from recognizing the problem to determining how many additional specialized professionals are required, how support should be financed and how quickly waiting lists can be reduced.
For Curaçao’s education system, the classroom of 2036 may therefore depend heavily on how effectively it responds to the needs already present in classrooms in 2026.