Can the government afford to fund a bachelor's programme in Papiamento?

Papiamento is one of the recognised languages in the Caribbean Netherlands, alongside English and Dutch. However, Papiamento only acquired this status last year. The new status means that Papiamento can be used officially in education, governmental affairs, and in the administration of justice. In that sense, it resembles Frisian.

The Dutch House of Representatives has been urging the cabinet to make education in Frisian possible at all levels and ensure the appointment of a professor of Frisian. The bachelor's programme in Frisian will be back next year.

‘What does the minister think about guaranteeing at least one bachelor's programme for Papiamento as well?’ GroenLinks-PvdA asks in a written consultation between the house of Rperesentatives and the Minister of Education. The consultation concerned the Dutch Caribbean and the status of Papiamento. ‘Would the same structural contribution from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of 340,000 euros per year be sufficient for this as well?’ That is the amount the government has allocated for Frisian.

Another political party, NSC, also asked questions about ‘the use and preservation of Papiamento as a main language’. According to this party, the “language position” of Papiamento needs to be improved, which would be in accordance with the recognition of Papiamento as an official language in the Kingdom.

‘At the same time, it is clear that the range of educational materials in Papiamento is insufficient,’ NSC notes. ‘These members are concerned that the quality of primary education has deteriorated very much (according to all experts). In addition, there seems to be no agreement at the policy level about the role of education in Papiamento parallel to the role of a major language, such as Dutch.’

Finally, the political party VVD, one of the two parties in the cabinet, is concerned about inequality of opportunity because pupils in that part of the kingdom do not learn Dutch properly. They want to know what position Papiamento and Dutch have in education. ‘What needs to change in education to achieve greater equality of opportunity?’ the liberals ask the minister.

GroenLinks-PvdA also asks such questions about the quality of education and the opportunities available to pupils. The party also wants to know whether the Education Inspectorate is able to cope with Papiamento. Outgoing Education Minister Gouke Moes (BBB) and State Secretary Koen Becking (VVD) must answer the questions. This usually takes a few weeks.

Papiamento is mainly spoken in Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The cabinet does not have much to say about the first two islands, as they are independent countries within the kingdom (just like Sint Maarten). Bonaire, on the other hand, is a special municipality, as are Sint Eustatius and Saba.