Moroccan-Dutch students make gains in secondary school, but fall behind in higher education

The gains are particularly visible among children of Moroccan parents who were born in the Netherlands. Among students who reached the third year of secondary school between 2003 and 2005, only 19% were enrolled in havo or vwo tracks, which prepare students for higher education. That share reached 26.9% for the 2015 to 2017 cohorts, an increase of nearly eight percentage points.

The gap with other students has therefore narrowed. Over the same period, the average share of students enrolled in these tracks rose from 40% to 42.8%. At this stage of schooling, young Dutch people of Moroccan origin thus made significantly faster progress than their peers overall.

But seven years after reaching the third year of secondary school, significant differences remain. In the 2015-2017 cohort, 38.5% of young people born in the Netherlands to Moroccan parents were pursuing higher education or had already earned a degree at that level, compared with 48.4% of all students. The two groups are still nearly ten percentage points apart.

The gap widens further when actual degree attainment is examined. Among students in the 2009-2011 cohort, tracked for thirteen years after their third year of secondary school, 24.3% of young people of Moroccan origin had earned a higher education degree, compared with 42.6% of the cohort overall. The difference is 18.3 percentage points.

Higher education is harder to complete

The analysis of educational pathways reveals two main challenges: moving from secondary school into higher education and completing courses of study once begun. Second-generation young people of Moroccan origin are proportionally less likely to enter hbo and wo programs, corresponding respectively to higher professional and university education. Those who do enroll are also less likely to complete their program with a degree.

Families’ economic circumstances play an important role in these pathways. When household income is included in the calculations, statisticians find that gaps between groups of different origins shrink by approximately half. Parents’ education level also plays a role, although the available information on this indicator remains incomplete.

This educational progress is also seen among other communities with immigrant backgrounds, notably young people of Turkish origin. CBS observes an increase in their enrollment in general secondary education, alongside similar difficulties in pursuing higher education.

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Changes in degree attainment confirm this long-term trend. Between 2013 and 2024, the share of people with higher education degrees increased in almost all the groups studied. Among Dutch people of Moroccan origin aged 25 to 30, it reached 28.2% in 2024, compared with 46.2% of all people in that age group born in the Netherlands. New generations are therefore advancing in their education, while the gap with the national average remains significant when it comes to earning a higher education degree.