Dangerous, a ‘ghetto’ and a lot of fighting. That is the image that some people still have of pre-vocational secondary education, say students at the Stedelijk College in Eindhoven. And they think that is unfair. To show what pre-vocational secondary education really has to offer, the school opened its doors on Tuesday together with more than twenty other pre-vocational secondary education schools. “These students are super important for the Netherlands.”
At Stedelijk College, Tuesday is a school day like any other. Students cook in the kitchen, make colorful bouquets and sell gift packages. One difference: now and then there are parents, companies and future students walking around.
Kaylee talks about the Care and Welfare direction. “I like this part because you can work with people. You help the elderly and children, and you learn to do your hair and take care of yourself.” Amana explains to visitors about Economy and Entrepreneurship. “Here we learn how to work with a cash register, how much something costs and what you need. We also organized a festival this year.”
“Some people think this is a dangerous school.”
The students are enthusiastic, but pre-vocational secondary education still suffers from an image problem. “Pre-vocational secondary education is often seen as a type of education that a student has to attend and is not allowed to attend,” says Arjen Daelmans of Stichting Platforms vmbo, the initiator of the open day. “Parents often say: my child can go to HAVO or VWO. But if that doesn’t work out, he or she will have to go to VMBO. We really want to break that image.”
Students recognize that negative image. “Some people think this is a dangerous school,” says one student. “And that there are a lot of people fighting here, but that is not the case. It is just a normal school, with nice people and nice teachers.” A classmate adds: “Some people think this school is ‘ghetto’ or weird. I don’t know why they say that.”
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Daelmans hopes that an open day like this will help to positively change the image of pre-vocational secondary education. “People often have an opinion about pre-vocational secondary education even though they have never been there. Come and have a look first and then judge.”
State Secretary for Education Koen Becking also visited the open day in Eindhoven on Tuesday. “These students are super important for the Netherlands, they make everything we need,” he says. “We also really need them in the future, with all the changes in energy, digital tools and artificial intelligence. You can get very nice jobs and a good salary. So why not?”
