Medical students providing tutoring in Rotterdam-Zuid: equal opportunities start with an exercise book and a safe place

On the walls of the HefHouse, brightly coloured sticky notes display mathematical formulas: Pythagoras’ theorem on a bright-pink piece of paper, a simultaneous equation on a bright-yellow one. In the corner of the room, in front of the window, is a red bench surrounded by green plants. Two high school students sit at the table, their exercise books and laptops open, ready for an hour and a half of intensive tutoring. Here, in Rotterdam-Zuid, they receive free support with their homework as part of an initiative set up by a group of medical students.

The StudieBoost Foundation was set up by students who had seen for themselves how big an impact inequality of opportunity can have. For the Medicine programme, students’ socio-economic backgrounds play a role in admissions. Students who grow up in an environment where tutoring is taken for granted often have an advantage, because they are better prepared for the demands of the programme. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to that extra support, which reduces equality of opportunity. With StudieBoost, the founders aim to address this inequality and provide more equal opportunities for students, regardless of their background.

StudieBoost’s motto is that the disadvantages lie not with the child, but with the opportunities it is given. Education should not be determined by the circumstances you grow up in. For StudieBoost board member Zekeriya Mustafa, this is more than a slogan. He knows from his own experience what it’s like to go through school without the right support. His parents, both born in Somalia, couldn’t help him with his homework – not because they didn’t want to, but because they were simply unfamiliar with the Dutch education system. “I was lucky that my brothers and sisters were able to help me”, he says. “Whenever I wanted my assignments and reports checked, I went to my sister. She’s really good at spelling and grammar.”

A new high school student joins for the first time. She is greeted immediately. Volunteers introduce themselves and ask if they can give her a hand. The ice is broken quickly. There are three volunteers and two high school students this evening; due to the spring holidays, it’s a bit quieter than usual. At the tables, they are hard at work. Maths, physics, Dutch – the subjects vary each evening, but the focus is always the same: working together to make difficult material understandable.

At one of the tables, a student, Omar, is grappling with a maths problem involving parabolas and graphs together with volunteer Vania. There is room for mistakes, as well as for asking questions. “I’m super proud of you for thinking your way through this step”, says a volunteer to a student who has just solved a difficult problem.

“My parents learned maths in a very different way”, says Omar, who has been coming to the homework evenings for a while now. “They explain it the way they know, but that’s not how my teacher wants it done.” It’s a recognisable problem for many students here: their parents are keen to help, but the way subjects are taught in the Netherlands is sometimes very different from the methods they are used to. This can lead to confusion and frustration, something StudieBoost’s volunteers patiently address. As well as support with content, StudieBoost also provides structure and resources. Some students have only one exercise book for all their subjects. Pens and extra exercise books are handed out without hesitation.

Although the tutoring is attracting more and more students, reaching a wider audience remains hard. Many young people who would benefit from tutoring do not yet know of the initiative’s existence. StudieBoost is therefore looking to expand – not only in the number of students it helps, but also in the number of locations and volunteers.

The ambitions go beyond help with homework. In the future, the organisers also want to offer workshops on personal development and career choices. How do you write a CV? How do you navigate a job interview? These are questions that many young people in Rotterdam-Zuid do not have ready-made answers to. The aim is not only to provide support with educational subjects, but also to help with follow-up steps.

As the evening progresses, the two students fill the tables with used exercise books and pens. There is laughter at a failed calculation, after which a volunteer calmly starts explaining again. The atmosphere is relaxed, but focused.

The initiative has built a solid core of students in a short time. Some come every week, others only during exam weeks. “We want everyone to feel welcome, whether they come every week or only when they need extra help”, says Zekeriya. The bar to entry is low, which is exactly the intention.