ORANJESTAD – Aruba’s government is set to form a work group dedicated to addressing the challenges Aruban students face when taking their final high school exams in Dutch. This decision follows a recent article published in the Dutch newspaper Amigoe, which highlighted the difficulties students encounter due to the language barrier during their final exams.
Dutch Teacher’s Personal Account
The article, written by Dutch teacher Arnoud Kuijpers, who spent a year teaching in Aruba, paints a picture of the “unfair” struggles Aruban students face in their education. According to Kuijpers, the exams are designed in the Netherlands and often reference Dutch cultural and societal issues, which are irrelevant to Aruba’s context. This makes it harder for Aruban students to relate to and understand the material.
Kuijpers emphasized that while students in Aruba only use Dutch in the classroom, the language is not actively spoken elsewhere on the island. “Dutch is a ‘dead’ language here,” he noted, explaining that students are required to learn and understand Dutch for the exams without practical use in their daily lives.
Government’s Response
In response to the concerns raised, the Aruban government has committed to addressing the language issues that affect students’ ability to succeed in exams. A work group will be formed to find solutions that will better align the exams with Aruba’s cultural and linguistic environment. The task force is expected to explore ways to bridge the gap between the Dutch language exams and the local context of Aruba.
Photo credits : https://www.noticiacla.com/news/12854
