The Dutch Ministry for Education is calling for universities to stop actively recruiting international students — and the universities have something to say about it.
While there’s a lot of support for the measure from within the House of Representatives, Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences have expressed their… concerns, writes Trouw.
Universities like international students
Following the announcement by the organisation, Universities of the Netherlands, that all recruitment activities are now on hold until February, many institutions are responding to the new policy with the opposite of the Dutch government’s reaction — criticism.
Universities in the border regions of the Netherlands are especially worried. They fear they will no longer be able to live up to their ‘international profile.’
READ MORE | More and more internationals are coming to the NL (and Dutch unis aren’t happy)
Another concern comes down to money: due to higher tuition fees, foreign (non-EU) students are highly profitable for Dutch universities — and this is a source of income they are reluctant to let go of. 💸
However, the Dutch Ministry of Education is well aware of this, which is why it will make an exception by allowing ‘limited and targeted recruitment’ for courses in which there is a labour shortage. 🧑🎓
To obey or nee?
While universities are complying with the government’s request and freezing the active recruitment of internationals, for now, universities of applied sciences remain undecided.
READ MORE | 7 handy things to know before starting your university hunt in the Netherlands
Instead, the Vereniging Hogescholen (Association of Universities of Applied Sciences) would like to continue discussions about the internationalisation policy in the coming months.
What do you think about the universities’ reactions? Let us know in the comments!
Unis should be responsible for housing of the students, specially the internationals. Accepting and saying “don’t come if you can not find housing” is very irresponsible, knowing that there are severe shortage in student housing.