PHILIPSBURG:--- In 2019, the Ministers of the four countries within the Kingdom and the Taalunie signed a declaration of intent to cooperate in the field of Dutch as a foreign language (NVT). To give substance to this declaration of intent, the members of the NVT core network met on February 26 in Curaçao. This core network consists of policymakers from the ministries of education and representatives of the institutes for the higher education of the islands.
The Dutch language has a special position on each of the islands: at every school, it is a subject and sometimes Dutch is also the language of instruction, while for many students Dutch is not their mother tongue. Therefore schools and teachers on the islands face major challenges. This requires a specific approach in which the islands can learn from each other and share knowledge with each other.
The aim of cooperation in this field is for students to receive education in, and from, the Dutch language that is tailored to them. Here the NVT core network plays an important role. Important themes during the network meeting were professionalization and awareness of the fact that Dutch is a foreign language for most students. The commitment of everyone to cooperate, a convincing result of this day, is a milestone in the development of NVT.
The NVT core network and the experts from the islands will work on this topic and further strengthen the cooperation.
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