The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science ( nl, Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschappen; OCW) is the
Dutch Ministry responsible for
education,
culture,
science,
research,
gender equality and
communications. The Ministry was created in 1918 as the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences and had several name changes before it became the Education, Culture and Science in 1994. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, currently
Robbert Dijkgraaf
Responsibilities
The mission of the ministry is to "work for a smart, able and creative Netherlands". The ministry is responsible for three fields of policy:
* The whole of
education, from
kindergarten, via
primary education
Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...
and
secondary education to
vocational training and
higher education;
*
Culture,
arts and the
public broadcasting;
*
Science and
innovation.
Organisation
The ministry is currently headed by two ministers and one state secretary. The ministry's main office is located in the
Hoftoren
The Hoftoren (, ''Court Tower''), nicknamed ''De Vulpen'' (, ''The Fountain Pen'') is a 29-storey, building in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the third-tallest building in the city, and the eighth-tallest in the country. The Hoftoren was design ...
, the tallest building of
The Hague. The ministry has around 2500 civil servants. The civil service is headed by a secretary general and a deputy secretary general, who head a system of three directorates general:
* Primary and Secondary Education;
* Higher Education, Professional Training and Sciences;
* and Culture and Media.
It has several autonomous agencies:
* Central Financial Institution, which is responsible for the execution of financial policies:
* Institute Collection Netherlands;
* National Archive;
* Government Service for Archeology, Cultural Landscape and Monuments;
* Education Inspection;
* Cultural Conservation Inspection;
* Council for Science and Technology; Policy;
* Council for Education;
* and the Council for Culture.
History
The predecessor of the ministry, the Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences was founded in 1918, as it became autonomous from the
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. It was founded as a result of the resolution of the
school struggle, the conflict about the equalisation of the finance for religious and public schools.
During the
German occupation the ministry was renamed Department for Education, Sciences and Cultural Conservation and a separate Department for Propaganda and Arts. In 1965 the department for arts was integrated into the new Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Social Work. In 1982 this cultural department was integrated into the
Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to:
Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries.
* Ministry of Health (Argentina)
* Ministry of Health (Armenia)
* Australia:
** Ministry of Health (New South Wales)
* Ministry of Health (The Bahamas)
* Ministry of ...
. In 1996 cultural department returned to the Ministry of Education.
See also
*
List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands
References
External links
*
*
Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap(Rijksoverheid)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Netherlands)
Education, Culture and Science
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Education in the Netherlands
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Netherlands, Education, Culture and Science