Dutch universities argue for a limit on the number of international students

The Netherlands is known for being one of the best places to go if you want to study abroad. But could this be about to change? Universities in the Netherlands are asking politicians to limit the number of foreign students.

This academic year, more than 340,000 people have enrolled in Dutch universities. This is about a 4% increase from 2020 to 2021. Included in this number are around 80,000 people who would be coming from abroad, reports the NOS.

Demands for higher education

President Duisenberg of the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) says there is a high demand for higher education worldwide, putting pressure on universities and the Dutch system is feeling it.

Lecture halls become fuller, universities need more space for teaching and the workload of university professors increases — all the while, funding for universities has not grown to compensate for this.

Beginning with those outside the EU

Duisenberg claims the Netherlands is a special case because — unlike other countries — the country doesn’t have a maximum on accepting foreign students for higher education.

The plan? Universities want politicians to start limiting the number of foreign students, starting with those from outside the EU.

Separating Dutch and English programmes

Many studies have Dutch and English versions of the same programme. Duisenberg suggests letting students have completely open and guaranteed access to the Dutch version of the programme. English programmes would then have a fixed number of enrolments.

As a result, university programmes would have to be more selective of students who can join their English programmes.

Should universities have a cap on how many international students can enrol for university in the Netherlands? Tell us what you think in the comments!

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