Ten Indonesian students who have been following a learning and working program at Zorggroep Drenthe for almost two years have submitted their resignation. So far, 17 out of 40 students from the first group of students have dropped out. One of a second group of eight students wrote a letter of resignation.
Zorggroep Drenthe previously indicated that it would no longer start new programs with Indonesian students. It therefore appears that a project that was presented as an innovative solution to the staff shortage in healthcare is increasingly dying a silent death at Zorggroep Drenthe.
Zorggroep Drenthe brought 40 Indonesian students to the Netherlands through intermediary Yomema in November 2021 to train them to become Bachelor of Nursing International. They followed a course of two days of learning, two days of internship and two days of work.
In July, it was revealed via RTV Drenthe that there were complaints among students about the process. They had to work every weekend, had broken shifts and barely received internship guidance.
Unrest arose among the students after the program was stopped for five of them because they had received two failing grades for their internship. Since the beginning of this year, Zorggroep Drenthe has applied the rule that the process ends with two unsatisfactory assessments for the internship.
Two students already returned to Indonesia last year.
A large number of the eleven students who have now resigned were expected to receive or expected to receive a second unsatisfactory assessment for their internship in November.
Zorggroep Drenthe confirms that eleven students have sent a letter of resignation. “It is never nice when people resign. Inquiries show that the students in question made this choice for their own and very personal reasons. We regret this and we naturally respect personal choices.”
To prevent further dropouts, Zorggroep Drenthe says it will provide students with “maximum support where we can in their training process.”
In addition to the eleven students who have resigned, there are four students who want to return to Indonesia. Zorggroep Drenthe also says it has heard that some of the students want to return, but they do not know whether this concerns four students.
There are also three Indonesian students who are in a relationship with a Dutch person and have received or are trying to obtain a residence permit through this means.
The eleven students will try to work elsewhere in healthcare. About half are registered with the secondment agency Care Indonesia in Velp.