WILLEMSTAD – HAVO/VWO (High School) teacher Eugène Maduro has submitted his proposal to revise Curaçao’s core subject regulations to the Parliament of Curaçao, after previously raising the issue with Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Sithree van Heydoorn.
Maduro argues that the current system can unfairly penalize students who perform well across almost all subjects but fail their final exams because of one insufficient grade in a core subject. The current core subjects are Dutch, English and mathematics.
According to the teacher, the regulations deserve a broader discussion within the context of Curaçao’s autonomy. Since October 10, 2010, Curaçao has been an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Maduro believes this means Curaçao should have the authority to determine how core subjects are weighted within its own education system.
He is asking Parliament to hold a debate on the independent development of education policy and to examine which education regulations Curaçao can revise or modernize.
Maduro stressed that he does not question the importance of Dutch, English and mathematics as essential subjects. However, he believes the overall performance of a student should play a greater role when determining whether a student graduates.
In his earlier proposal to the education minister, Maduro suggested that students could still graduate if they achieve a minimum average final grade of 6.5 or 7.0, while all other subjects have been successfully completed. He also proposed giving schools more room for professional judgment and establishing an evaluation committee with representatives from schools, teachers, education experts and parents.
The teacher’s appeal now places the discussion before Parliament, where lawmakers will have to consider whether Curaçao’s current graduation requirements provide the right balance between maintaining educational standards and recognizing the full academic performance of students.