Education

From the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, the Netherlands has enjoyed a high level of basic education and comparatively high literacy rates. In the 19th century efforts were made to systematize education and to secure adequate financing for schools. As the state became more deeply involved in education, a dispute arose concerning the fate of nonpublic, mainly church-related, schools. The so-called school struggle became a major political issue and was not fully settled until 1917, when a constitutional amendment guaranteed equal, tax-paid financial support for both public and nonpublic schools. Today, about one-third of the elementary and secondary schools are public, and about two-thirds are nonpublic, mainly Roman Catholic or Protestant. School attendance is compulsory for children aged 5 through 16 years. Pupils attend a primary school for six years and then enter one of several types of secondary schools, which offer training for entering a university or other advanced institution or for pursuing a vocation. In the late 1980s about 1.5 million pupils attended primary schools, and about 1.3 million students were enrolled in secondary, vocational, and teacher-training schools. The number of students enrolled in institutions of higher education increased dramatically in the 1960s, and by the late 1980s some 307,500 students attended colleges and universities. Major institutions include the University of Amsterdam (1632) and the state universities of Groningen (1614), Leiden (1575), and Utrecht (1636). The Netherlands has several technical universities and schools of fine arts.



Economy

The Netherlands has played a special role in the European economy for many centuries. Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Dutch economy, and trade with the country's colonial empire was important in the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. Since the independence of Indonesia in the late 1940s, the Dutch economy has been redirected from colonial trade to that with European nations; a diversified manufacturing base was created as employment in agriculture fell; and the country became a major energy exporter as large deposits of natural gas were discovered. In all these changes the national government played a major role, particularly by its economic planning. The government's influence is great even though most firms are privately owned, because it distributes nearly half the Dutch national income. Also important in the economic growth of the Netherlands are the activities of a number of large private firms.



Climate

The Netherlands shares the temperate maritime climate common to much of northern and western Europe. The average January temperature is 1.7° C (35° F), and the mean July temperature is 17.2° C (63° F). The average annual precipitation for the country is about 760 mm (about 30 in). Cloudless days are uncommon, as is prolonged frost. Because the Netherlands has few natural barriers, such as high mountains, the climate varies little from region to region.



List of Universities in THE NETHERLANDS

• Delft University of Technology

• Delta University

• don Quijote

• Eindhoven University of Technology

• Erasmus University of Rotterdam

• Haagse Hogeschool

• Hanzehogeschool

• Hogeschool Eindhoven

• Hogeschool van Amsterdam

• Hogeschool van Utrecht

• IJselland Polytechnic

• Intercultural Open University

• Larenstein, University of Professional Education

• Leiden University

• Nijenrode University

• Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden

• Open University of the Netherlands

• Tilburg University

• University of Amsterdam

• University of Groningen

• University of Limburg

• University of Nijmegen

• University of Twente

• Utrecht University

• Vrije University

• Wageningen Agricultural University