Some 40% of ethnic minority students at hbo colleges and universities in the Netherlands started off at trade schools, compared with just 20% of native Dutch students, Trouw reports on Friday.

The figures come from the Amsterdam-based institute for migration and ethnic studies and support international research which shows children from a minority background find it harder to get into higher education in Holland.
The main reason is thought to be the way children in Holland are put into secondary school streams at the age of 12. In countries where selection takes place later, there are more minority students at university.
Students who go to university or college via trade schools take between one and three years extra to get there. ‘The risk of dropping out is big,’said researcher Maurice Crul. ‘Those who succeed are really determined.’