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The organization of cultural activity and social life in the Holland began to change significantly in the 1960s. Until then, most facets of Dutch life were organized systematically in what are called pillars, or groups. In education, politics, the communications media, medicine, the trade unions, and other segments of Dutch life, institutions were specifically Protestant, Roman Catholic, or public (nondenominational) and were represented on committees at all levels of government. As the country underwent change, socialist and liberal nonsectarian pillars joined the denominational pillars, and some institutions became independent of the pillar system. By the 1980s most people had become less firmly attached to a specific pillar.

From the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, the Holland 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 Holland has several technical universities and schools of fine arts.

Photo Gallery:

Amsterdam Channel Amsterdam Channel

Fireline of the Rotterdam Fireline of the Rotterdam

Golden Tulip Rotterdam Golden Tulip Rotterdam

Erasmus Bridge Rotterdam Erasmus Bridge Rotterdam

Utrecht Utrecht

Utrecht Uithof Utrecht Uithof

Utrecht University De UithofUtrecht University De Uithof

Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam Arena

Amsterdam Grachten Amsterdam Grachten

Eindhoven Station Eindhoven Station

Eindhoven Center Eindhoven Center

Eindhoven Museum Kempenland Eindhoven Museum Kempenland

Parliament in Hague Parliament in Hague

Madurodam (Hague) Madurodam (Hague)

Center of Hague Center of Hague