Full Circle: Gumbs dealing with housing crisis she foresaw as student leader, will travel to the Netherlands

GREAT BAY--In what must feel like a twist of fate, the worsening student housing crisis in the Netherlands is an issue that Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sport (ECYS), Melissa Gumbs, and her peers had warned about years ago.

As a student leader in the Netherlands, Gumbs co-founded and chaired the Unified St. Maarten Connection (USC) between 2010 and 2016, a support organization for St. Maarten students and young professionals abroad. At the time, USC urged successive governments to secure long-term housing arrangements for students, anticipating that access to safe and affordable accommodation would only grow more difficult.

Today, that very crisis has escalated, and now, as Minister of ECYS, Gumbs finds herself in the position of trying to mitigate the same challenges she once highlighted as a student advocate.

Later this month, Minister Gumbs will travel to the Netherlands on a working visit that includes meetings with St. Maarten students, educational stakeholders, housing corporations, and funding agencies. While the visit is intended to offer guidance and support to new students arriving in the Netherlands, it also presents an opportunity to hold exploratory discussions on long-term structural issues, including housing availability and student well-being.

“The housing situation in the Netherlands is an ongoing concern, not just for international students, but even for Dutch students living in their own country,” Gumbs noted. “It adds an extra layer of stress for our students, who are already far from home and adjusting to a new environment.”

She pointed out that past strategies, such as securing a set number of rooms through agreements with housing corporations, as seen with Aruba and Curaçao, have become increasingly difficult to sustain given the growing demand. Even islands with previously solid agreements are now struggling to maintain them.

During her meetings, the Minister will explore the feasibility of reintroducing or developing similar frameworks for St. Maarten students. Discussions will also include the possibility of capitalizing support funds and identifying new investment vehicles that could bolster student assistance in the long term.

It should be noted that the intention is to understand what options exist, and what kinds of partnerships or models could work for St. Maarten in the future.

Minister Gumbs also acknowledged the risks students face when navigating the housing market online. Instances of scams, such as the widely reported Kamernet fraud cases, have left students vulnerable and out of pocket. As part of her Ministry’s response, a list of vetted housing platforms will be shared with students to help them begin their search safely and earlier.

The Minister will arrive ahead of the student cohort to host introductory sessions and ensure a direct line of communication with students from the outset. “Being away from home is already difficult,” she said. “When housing becomes uncertain, and when decisions affecting your status feel arbitrary, it impacts your ability to succeed. It is not conducive to student performance."

Beyond housing, the Ministry is also exploring partnerships with other regional institutions to diversify study destinations. Discussions are underway to formalize new Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) that could expand opportunities outside of the Netherlands.

As for Curacao for example, the persistent housing shortage for Caribbean students in the Netherlands is prompting new collaborative efforts to find long-term solutions. Stichting Studiefinanciering Curaçao (SSC) is developing a housing plan in coordination with a consortium of construction companies to create housing options managed directly by the organizations themselves, with a particular focus on second-year Caribbean students.

“We’ve approached the Arubahuis, the Sint Maartenhuis, and Bonaire to join us in this initiative,” said Sidney ‘Bicho’ Justiana, director of SSC. “We hope to finalize an agreement next week for the creation of permanent housing options. Discussions are ongoing.”

The housing issue has remained a persistent concern. Currently, SSC arranges ‘short stay’ rooms for first-year students, allowing them to live in student housing during their initial year of study. However, once that year concludes, students must secure their own housing to make space for the next wave of first-year students.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for second-year students to find a place to live,” Justiana noted. “Some end up temporarily staying with an uncle, aunt, or even a partner. It’s far from ideal and very complicated for them.”

In response, SSC is also engaging with several Dutch municipalities to explore additional housing options. For Caribbean students, the challenge is particularly acute, as unlike Dutch students, they cannot rely on family homes nearby as a fallback.

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