THE HAGUE—The Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) has conducted research which shows that early streamlining in Dutch education results in fewer pupils having access to higher level education at university.

The CPB's report echoes earlier findings by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development — an international body which monitors sustainable economic growth for more than 100 countries — which conclude that pupils from a working class environment, as well as those from a Moroccan or Turkish background, rarely get the chance to go on to university.

Dutch pupils are streamlined before entering secondary education. The advice given by the primary school and the score achieved in the final "Cito" exam determine which one of the three levels the pupil will be assigned to. The highest level, VWO, will prepare the pupil for entering university. The lowest level, VMBO, is geared towards vocational training.

It's this lowest group that the CPB is concerned about as researchers have shown that if streamlining were to take place in the second or third year of secondary school, it would increase the pupil's chance of going on to a higher level of education and studying at university by more than 25 percent.

Radio Netherlands/Expatica