Primary and secondary education

In Aruba, children aged 4 to 16 must go to school. Children start with 2 years of nursery education. This is followed by primary education.

Primary education

Primary education is for pupils aged 6 to 12.

• Duration i : 6 years.
• Content:
  • compulsory subjects, such as history, Dutch, Papiamentu and arithmetic;
  • non-compulsory subjects, such as English and Spanish.

You can find more information about primary education on the Department of Education Aruba website.

Secondary education

There are 2 types of secondary education in Aruba:

• Lower Vocational Education (Educacion Profesional Basico, EPB) with exams for a Diploma Educacion Profesional Basico;
• General Secondary Education (Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs, AVO) with exams for one of the following diplomas:
  • Diploma Middelbaar Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs (after MAVO);
  • Diploma Hoger Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs (after HAVO);
  • Diploma Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (after VWO).

Students complete the Lower Vocational Education (Educacion Profesional Basico, EPB) with a Diploma Educacion Progesional Basico.

• Duration i : 4 years.
• Content: the 1st year (starting year) consists of general education subjects. In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years (vocational cycle), students take subjects for a profession in the field of economics, service or engineering. They take the vocational cycle at one of the following levels:
  • advancement level (doorstroomniveau);
  • exit level (uitstroomniveau);
  • labour market level (niveau arbeidsmarkt).
• Language: The study programmes at advancement and exit level are in Dutch. The labour market level is in Papiamentu.
• Admission requirements: students must have completed primary education.
• Function of the diploma:
  • Advancement level: access to secondary vocational education (EPI) and to certain training programmes (fire brigade, customs and police).
  • Exit level: work and sometimes access to training at the advancement level.
  • Labour market level: work.
• Diploma: Diploma Educacion Profesional Basico. The diploma also states the level of the vocational cycle.

Students complete MAVO with exams for a Diploma Middelbaar Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs.

• Duration: 4 years:
  • 2 years of lower secondary education: the Ciclo Basico MAVO.
  • 2 years of upper secondary education: the Ciclo Avansa MAVO.
• Content: students take the subjects Dutch language and literature, English language and literature, cultural and artistic education and physical education. From upper secondary school onwards, they choose a subject cluster with compulsory subjects (cluster part) and elective subjects (elective part). They can choose from these subject clusters:
  • Humaniora – HU (Humanities);
  • Mens en Maatschappijwetenschappen – MM (Human and Social Sciences);
  • Natuurwetenschappen – NW (Natural Sciences).
• Exams: school exams are held in May.
• Admission requirements: students must have completed primary education.
• Function of the diploma: access to secondary vocational education.
• Diploma: Diploma Middelbaar Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs.

Students complete HAVO with exams for a Diploma Hoger Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs.

• Duration: 5 years:
  • 2 years of lower secondary education: the Ciclo Basico HAVO/VWO.
  • 3 years of upper secondary education: the Ciclo Avansa HAVO.
• Content: students take the subjects Dutch language and literature, English language and literature, cultural and artistic education, physical education and individual & society/society studies.. From upper secondary school onwards, they choose a subject cluster with compulsory subjects (cluster part) and elective subjects (elective part). They can choose from these subject clusters:
  • Humaniora – HU (Humanities);
  • Mens en Maatschappijwetenschappen – MM (Human and Social Sciences);
  • Natuurwetenschappen – NW (Natural Sciences).
• Exams: school exams are held in May.
• Admission requirements: students must have completed primary education. Students gain access to HAVO-4 after completing MAVO.
• Function of the diploma: access to higher professional education.
• Diploma: Diploma Hoger Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs.

Students complete VWO with exams for a Diploma Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs.

• Duration: 6 years:
  • 2 years of lower secondary education: the Ciclo Basico HAVO/VWO.
  • 4 years of upper secondary education: the Ciclo Avansa VWO.
• Content: students take the subjects Dutch language and literature, English language and literature, cultural and artistic education, physical education and individual & society/society studies.. From upper secondary school onwards, they choose a subject cluster with compulsory subjects (cluster part) and elective subjects (elective part). They can choose from these subject clusters:
  • Humaniora – HU (Humanities);
  • Mens en Maatschappijwetenschappen – MM (Human and Social Sciences);
  • Natuurwetenschappen – NW (Natural Sciences).
• Exams: school exams are held in May.
• Admission requirements: students must have completed primary education. Students gain access to VWO-5 after completing HAVO.
• Function of the diploma: access to research-oriented higher education and higher professional education.
• Diploma: Diploma Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs.