It’s fierce competition trying to get your kid into an international school in the Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam, but fret not, the Dutch government is aiming to help eliminate long waiting lists.
With Amsterdam attracting international business due to its desirable economic climate, particularly after Brexit, more schools are needed to educate the families of expats.
In the last five years, international schools have seen a 47 percent increase in their student numbers, with inundated waiting lists continuing. Currently, 19.000 students are enrolled in international schools in the Netherlands.
The dilemma has led the Dutch government along with the Amsterdam and The Hague city councils to agree on allocating a one-off sum of 10,7 million euros, each party bearing half the investment, towards the expansion of selected schools.
Five schools in the Amsterdam region and two near The Hague have been awarded the funding for construction and expansion to allow an extra 1.150 students to be given a place in August 2017.
The exact schools in the two regions have not yet been announced, but as there are few within these cities, it is likely that the following will be beneficiaries: International School of Amsterdam in Amstelveen, The British School of Amsterdam, British School in the Netherlands in Voorschoten, and The American School of The Hague in Wassenaar.
In September 2016, the government had already allocated seven million euros to the development of international schools in the Eindhoven region.
With the region thriving in the automotive, ICT and Life Science industries, school numbers are sure to continue increasing.
In 2016, there were 350 foreign investors including Oracle and Danone that accounted for 11.398 additional jobs and 1,74 billion of investment into the Dutch economy.
Foreign Minister of Economic Affairs, Henk Kamp claimed that good international education was an important factor for international businesses to base themselves in the Netherlands.
With international companies bringing 900.000 jobs to the country, and more predicted to transfer after Brexit, Amsterdam hopes to have an additional 7.000 places available by 2020 as part of the Delta Plan for International Education.