Caribbean students will get a BSN when applying for student loans
Opening a bank account, buying insurance, applying for a DigiD... it will all become easier for Caribbean students coming here. As of April 1st, they will receive a citizen service number or BSN (for the Dutch “burgerservicenummer”) when they apply for college financing.
This is reported by college financing agency DUO. With the BSN they can arrange practical matters before coming to “European Netherlands.” It should make the move easier.
Students from Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten could previously only apply for a BSN when they registered with their municipality upon arrival in the Netherlands. This caused all kinds of practical problems.
Headaches
In late 2020, the national ombudsman sounded the alarm about the “headaches” of Caribbean students. A report described problems with discrimination, cultural differences, and language delays, but it also mentioned the hassle with the BSN.
There was no quick solution, much to the annoyance of the ombudsman, who called the situation in the Netherlands distressing. It would be easier for Caribbean students to study in Belgium, for example, where they would be treated as EU citizens.
But now it has been worked out. Prospective students will be sent their BSN number by letter. Because the mail to the Caribbean can take a long time, prospective students can also request the BSN by phone from DUO, the Dutch student financing agency.
In April, DUO employees will visit the Caribbean islands to provide information on college financing and other practical matters to prospective students and their parents. DUO will also open a temporary service office on each of the islands.
Kingdom Scholarship
In recent years more attention has been given to Caribbean students in the Netherlands. For example, a Kingdom Scholarship has been established, a kind of Erasmus scholarship for exchange within the different parts of the Kingdom. About 120 students a year can make use of this.
The Erasmus scholarships are there for exchange abroad, but the Netherlands is not a foreign country for the Caribbean part of the kingdom. Students from the countries Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Maarten could therefore more easily go on an internship or exchange in, say, France or Germany than in the “European Netherlands.” The same was true for students from the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba (‘special municipalities’ within the kingdom).
Degree completion
The hope is that such improvements in their situation will help Caribbean students get their degrees faster. Currently, only 20 percent of Caribbean students graduate from college within five years compared to nearly 40 percent of students with a non-Western immigration background and 50 percent of students without an immigration background.
Also, fewer Caribbean students finish college. Fewer than 50 percent get their bachelor’s in four years, compared to 60 percent of other groups of students.
It was recently revealed that Caribbean students here are less likely to enter healthcare programs such as medicine and physical therapy than in the past, due in part to selection procedures. The administration has yet to respond to those findings.
