Dutch education system one of the best in the world: OECD

The Netherlands' system of education is one of the best in the world, though there is some definite room for improvement, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in a report published on Wednesday, ANP reports. According to the OECD, the Netherlands education system is performing well. The country has more top-performing 15-year-olds in the field of general skills than most other countries in Europe. Though the country is still behind some Asian countries. The OECD also noted a number of fields where improvements can be made. For example, some talented students in the Netherlands can not reach their full potential as individual tutoring is sometimes insufficient. Further reforms are also necessary to raise early childhood education to a higher level. And the country needs to work on making it easier for school students to progress to higher education. The organization also warns that there will be a serious shortage of primary school teachers in the coming years as teacher training becomes stricter. By 2020 there may be a shortage of 1 thousand full time teachers. For this reason the OECD advises that the Netherlands makes it more attractive top performing students to become teachers. Minister Jet Bussemaker of Education commented that the OECD's report is a "compliment for all education professionals, but there are still challenges."