DUO continues provision of extra online public information for the Caribbean region
Late last year Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO; Education Executive Agency) organised an online public information campaign for (former) students in the Caribbean region. The campaign was organised because a physical visit to the islands was not possible due to corona. The online contact options have been so successful that they will be continued in the next few months. The public information campaign will comprise a second webinar for prospective students and actions to prevent repayment difficulties among repayers.
Webinar for prospective students
On the 15th of April, DUO will organise the ‘Studiefinanciering aanvragen vanuit het Caribisch gebied: de praktische zaken’ webinar. This is a follow-up to the ‘Studiefinanciering: hoe werkt het?’ webinar, held November last year. The webinar will provide prospective students insight into all practical matters which they must arrange for their student financing in the Netherlands in the next few months. The webinar can be watched with subtitles in English and Papiamentu. You can register for the webinar via duo.nl/webinar.
Help with payment arrears
DUO will continue to contact repayers actively in case of payment arrears. DUO will inform students who start repaying their debt how they can prevent further difficulties by requesting a financial capacity analysis or the local repayment option.
Repayers who have multiple debts or for whom aforementioned options are not a solution, they will be requested to contact DUO. They can subsequently look into a tailored solution together with a DUO officer.
Personal contact via chat and video calls
Over the past few months DUO has expanded its services for the Caribbean region with chat and video calls. These forms of personal contact with a DUO officer were very well received, which is why they will be continued. Students and former students can chat online at duo.nl/antillen on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Video calls are possible by appointment on Wednesdays and Fridays.
DUO implements laws and regulations for the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, among other things, and implements regulations on the funding of educational institutions, provides student financing and contributions to school costs, collects student debts, and manages the exchange of data linked to personal education numbers.