Bonaire

by Paul Bacsich, Sero

Bonaire (Dutch: Bonaire, Papiamentu: Boneiru) is a "special municipality" (officially a public body) of the Netherlands. It consists of the Caribbean island of Bonaire and, nestled in its western crescent, the uninhabited islet of Klein Bonaire.

Together with Aruba and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC Islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.

The name Bonaire is thought to have originally come from the Caiquetio word "Bonay". The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire, which means "Good Air".

Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in October 2010 when the island (including Klein Bonaire) became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands.

Bonaire has a population of just 14,000.

The only generally recognized towns on the island are Kralendijk and Rincon.

Dutch is the official language on Bonaire, since it is part of the Netherlands. Nevertheless, Papiamentu is recognised as another language on the island.

Bonaire is world renowned for its excellent scuba diving and is consistently rated among the best diving and Caribbean diving locations in the world. The island is ringed by a coral reef which is easily accessible from the shore along the Western and Southern sides. Furthermore, the entire coastline of the island has been declared a marine sanctuary, preserving local fish life. Bonaire is also consistently recognized as one of the best destinations for snorkeling.

The coral reef around uninhabited Klein Bonaire is particularly well conserved, and it draws divers, snorkelers, and boaters.

Lac Bay, (also known as Lac Cai or Lac Cay) on the eastern side of the island, is a windsurfer's paradise

Education in Bonaire

Schools

Bonaire’s educational system is patterned after the Dutch system. Early years are taught solely in Papiamentu, with more and more Dutch being introduced as the year level progresses.

Bonaire offers education for children ages 4-18. Schools vary from Public, Catholic and a private tuition based Dutch school. Bonaire has public and private high schools. In addition, various local daycares are found throughout Bonaire.

Many of the graduates go on to institutions of higher learning in the Netherlands, US, Canada, and other parts of Europe.

Higher Education

There were also two offshore American Caribbean Medical Schools in Bonaire:

• Xavier University School of Medicine, Bonaire has now moved to Curaçao and become Avalon University School of Medicine - http://www.avalonu.org
• Saint James School of Medicine is still in Bonaire- http://bonaire.sjsm.org

There are also indications that there are several students of the Dutch Open University on Bonaire.

Continuing Education

Continuing education for adults is also offered in Bonaire through FORMA. In addition, FORMA offers language, skills and a variety of other courses.

The EFA 2000 report listed below states:

FORMA, the Fundashon Formashon pa Mayan (Foundation for Education for Tomorrow) has been involved in this area in Bonaire since 1993. The goal of FORMA is to promote education in general and strives to accomplish this through providing and promoting courses and training. The courses (21 in total) consist of three categories, namely, general, tourism, and vocational. Age of the participants vary between 18 and 60. FORMA’s principal goal is to finally achieve a apprenticeship system.

FORMA has, in addition to contacts with the central government, Sede Antia foundation, and the Prins Bernhard foundation, established collaboration with FEFFIK (Fundashon pa Edukashon I Formashon di Fishi I Kapasitashon - Foundation for vocational education) situated in Curaçao. FEFFIK is an educational organization for non-formal vocational education. Three partners are represented in the FEFFIK board, namely, the government, the private sector, and the union.

References

For such a small island there is a large amount of information on education in Bonaire. See:

1. Education in Bonaire, http://www.ckbbonaire.org/pdfs/pp7_EDUCATIONINBONAIRE.pdf
2. http://www.tourismbonaire.com/en/over-bonaire/living/education
3. the old EFA 2000 UNESCO report, http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/netherlands_antilles/rapport_1_1.html

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