Almost 90,000 of the 340,000 students in the Netherlands come from abroad, and Dutchies are done with it.
Whether it’s the fabulous Dutch education system or its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Netherlands is one of the most popular destinations for international students.
Meanwhile, some Dutchies are getting fed up with the number of international students, so the VVD, the CDA and other opposition parties agreed to take measures to slow down the influx of international students, the NRC reports.
What’s wrong?
While the Netherlands is a great county to live in, it has its limitations. From student housing to the size of the country, the resources are not endless.
The number of international students has doubled in the past 20 years, creating a high workload for teachers and a large shortage of classrooms and lecture halls.
In the past 10 years, there has been an increasing number of English language courses, and some programs are no longer offered in Dutch.
Dutch students often lose out on university because they have to compete with students from around the world.
Hard to fix
The University of Amsterdam (UvA), where the number of international students tripled in the past 5 years, has already decided to take its own measurements and not wait for new legislation anymore.
READ MORE: Dutch cabinet to build 60,000 new student houses
Pieter Duisenberg, the chairman of the Association of Universities in the Netherlands, said to NRC:
“We have been asking for legislation since 2018 that makes it possible to introduce number limits in English-speaking bachelors, keeping the Dutch-language variant accessible. We also want courses to be able to say, for example, a maximum of fifty students from outside Europe.”
Universities cannot select their students by nationality; however, they plan to establish a quota for international students.
Popular for a reason
Dutch universities are some of the best in the world, they are significantly more affordable than universities in other EU countries (and the US!), and most of them offer English courses.
READ MORE: Why do so many international students want to study in the Netherlands?
And let’s not forget good ol’ Brexit; many internationals who were planning to study in the UK are now coming to the Netherlands instead.
Do you think the Dutch government should act to decrease the number of international students? Tell us in the comments!