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Universities outside the Randstad don’t want to limit the intake of international students

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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Universities outside the Randstad don’t want to limit the intake of international students

While the Dutch House of Representatives is pushing to limit the influx of international students to the Netherlands, universities around the Dutch border are concerned. 

Though Dutch universities had previously put the recruitment of international students on hold, Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf still believes that the Netherlands is “at [its] maximum” when it comes to international students, writes NU.nl. 😥

In February, he will come up with a proposal to definitively address the situation.

Worries in Zeeland and Limburg

In areas like Zeeland and Limburg, universities don’t appreciate the idea of limiting the number of students from abroad. 

They are eager to recruit students from abroad, not only to create a diverse learning environment, and a healthy labour market, but also to counteract the ageing population.

READ MORE | 7 handy things to know before starting your university hunt in the Netherlands

Multiple institutions from the south of the Netherlands have now openly expressed their concern about Dijkgraaf’s plans. “The region needs the international students,” a spokesperson for the University of Twente tells RTL Nieuws. 

No ‘one size fits all’ solution

After 115,000 new international students had come to the Netherlands in 2021 alone, MinisterDijkgraaf is thinking of a long-term measure to reduce this ever-growing number. 

While he is open to making exceptions in areas with a labour shortage, for example, he wants to ensure that this does not happen too much.

READ MORE | More and more internationals are coming to the NL (and Dutch unis aren’t happy)

But universities affected by Dijkgraaf’s incoming proposal are putting their foot down: they say ‘nee’ to limiting the number of international students. 🚫

There is no ‘one size fits all,’ the spokesperson for the University of Twente claims. Instead, it would be good  “if universities could decide for themselves how to adjust to student influx.”

What do you think of the plans to limit the influx of international students to the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments.

The Netherlands built 74,000 homes in 2022 — and it’s still not enough

Mihály Droppa
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The Netherlands built 74,000 homes in 2022 — and it’s still not enough

The Dutchies are trying to solve the housing crisis by building plenty of new homes for its residents, but we are still far from a solution. 

More houses were built than in any of the past 10 years! While the 74,000 new homes is a great step toward fixing the problem of people sleeping in tents, it is still far from the government’s original 100,000 new homes per year plan, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Surprise! Most of the new homes are in Amsterdam 

Region-wise, most homes were built in South Holland, where 14,500 new homes went up on the market. North Holland came in second, with 14,000 new homes built in 2022, the NOS reports.

READ MORE: Why is there a housing shortage in the Netherlands? The Dutch housing crisis explained

City-wise, Amsterdam is on the top with almost 6,800 new homes, which meant an increase in the housing stock of 1.5%. In each of the other big cities like Utrecht, The Hague, and Rotterdam also, 2,000 new homes were built in 2022. 

Still not enough

As mentioned above, the Dutch government still couldn’t reach the original goal of 100,000 new homes per year. The number of permits issued in 2022 was a lot lower than the year before.

READ MORE: 7 things the Dutch government is doing to tackle the Dutch housing crisis

The Economic Institute for Construction expects 70,000 new homes in 2023 and 2024, so it looks like the government’s goal will not be achieved. 

What do you think the Dutch government should do to solve the housing crisis? Tell us in the comments below!

Rain, rain, here to stay: showers and winds expected across NL

Francesca Burbano
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Rain, rain, here to stay: showers and winds expected across NL

Time to get that rain jacket out again. Rain is to be expected, accompanied by strong winds on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

In the evening, it will get dry in parts of the country, keeping temperatures above freezing, reports Weerplaza.nl.

A strong wind approaching

Tuesday morning will be cloudy, the wind coming from the southwest. 

Beware of opening your umbrella outside as the wind will increase in strength during the day with a speed of up to 55 kilometres per hour. 

Translation: Good morning! Today and tomorrow, the wind plays an important role in the weather scene. It is also mild for the last day of January and the first day of February. Sometimes there is rain or a shower, but large amounts are not an issue.

If you’re located in the southeast, cosy up at home, as it will continue to rain Tuesday evening. 

A stormy Wednesday 

With a vicious storm passing through the Netherlands from Scandinavia, the storm will make an appearance on Wednesday.

You can expect thunderstorms and hailstorms, especially in the north of the country.

READ MORE | 11 must-have closet items to survive the Dutch weather 

People that have to commute to work should take the weather into account for Wednesday morning. 

Next week, grey weather and cold nights in which temperatures drop down slightly await us.

How are you spending your days in the rainy weather? Tell us in the comments below! 

As of TODAY, you can check into Dutch public transport with your phone or bank card

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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As of TODAY, you can check into Dutch public transport with your phone or bank card

The day has come! You can now officially check into (most) Dutch public transport using your phone, bank card or smartwatch.

After a long wait, OVpay is launching in most of the Netherlands TODAY. Alongside the NS, who are officially introducing the payment system on its trains, Qbuzz and Arriva are also joining the club.

This means that, besides your trusty OV-Chipkaart, you can now use your bank card to check into most Openbaar Vervoer (public transport). Hoera!

How does OVpay work?

Checking into public transport using your bank card is as easy as appeltaart. You do not have to activate a special setting on your card, so as long as you have a debit or credit card, you are all set. 

Here’s how it works:

  1. Take the bank card you’d like to use for travel out of your wallet, or activate the contactless payment function on your smartphone or watch. 🤳
  2. Just as you would with your OV-Chipkaart, hold your card or device against the card scanner. This will check you in.
  3. Check out using the same card you checked in with. This is important, because if you use a different one, the pole will recognize that as a new check-in, and will charge you extra. 

And ta-da, you will have successfully used OVpay, gefeliciteerd! 🥳

Time to get rid of your OV-Chipkaart? Not just yet.

While the OVpay system is extremely handy, especially for tourists visiting the Netherlands, there are some functions that the system is still missing.

For the time being, OVpay does not allow you to use any discount subscriptions you may have. So, if you usually have student travel product, or 40% off outside rush hours, you’ll want to continue using your trusty yellow OV-Chipkaart.

READ NEXT | Here’s how to check into Dutch public transport with your bank card

Will you be checking into public transport with your bank card from now on? Tell us in the comments!

Doei hagelslag! Almost 50% of Dutch parents want a school-provided healthy lunch

Liana Risseeuw 🇱🇰
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Doei hagelslag! Almost 50% of Dutch parents want a school-provided healthy lunch

Hagelslag, vruchtenhagel, kaas… the Dutch are definitely known for their array of sandwich fixings! 😋 However, nearly 50% of parents in the Netherlands think their little ones aren’t getting enough nutrition in their school lunches.

Pointer, the investigative journalism platform of Dutch broadcaster KRO-NCRV, polled 911 parents on the subject — and let’s just say that the results were food for thought!

Healthy school lunches: 89% say they’re necessary

It’s a given that parents want their children to eat healthily, and the results were overwhelmingly in favour of this.

Within this group, 44% believed that schools ought to prove students with healthy lunches. Some parents noted that this would be a great way of helping students in poverty have access to filling and nutritious meals.

However, 38% were opposed to school lunches, stating that they’d rather decide what their kid ate instead.

Short lunch breaks mean that kids aren’t eating enough

Of all the parents surveyed, a quarter believed that 15 minutes was too short

Complaints ranged from one parent always having to clear half-full lunchboxes, whilst another disliked the idea of their child needing to shovel food down at a record pace. 👀

Pediatrician Felix Kreier was in agreement with the parental outrage. He explained that mental peace was essential for a child’s digestive system to function well. Without it, upset stomachs (and cranky, irritable kids!) were a given.

What do you think of Dutch kids being given school lunches? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

Another one: Dutch regional transport staff will strike for five days next week

Mihály Droppa
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Another one: Dutch regional transport staff will strike for five days next week

Are you ready for a new round of regional transport strikes? No? Well…

Depending on where you live, you won’t be able to use regional transport for your daily commuting, because from next Monday, the Netherlands will face another national strike — this time, for five days straight. 

An earlier strike blocked about 40% of the Dutch public transport, in various parts of the Netherlands.

Though, it’s not yet publicly known which areas will be affected by the strikes. But, there’s a big chance this one will cause a national ruckus too. 🙈

No deal

There is still no answer to the proposal made by CNV‘s (Christian National Union) trade union employees. 

A spokesperson for the CNV told to NU.nl, that there was nothing new in the VWOV’s (Employers in Public Transport) proposal. 

READ MORE: Hundreds of climate activists arrested for blocking the A12 highway

“Had there been anything new in that proposal, we could have reconnaissance.”

The VWOV announced that the collective labour agreement proposal that was on the table would lapse if it was discontinued. 

This means that all parties have to go back to the negotiating table to start their collective bargaining from scratch.

Ultimatum

The unions, therefore, do not respond to the VWOV counter ultimatum and will prepare actions (or more like no actions) this week. 🚌

READ MORE: Here’s how to check into Dutch public transport with your bank card

“We don’t think there is a good chance that the employers still want to talk. That’s why we are now looking with FNV’s colleagues on how we are going to organise our actions.” — says the spokesperson of CNV. 

Are you ready for another round of strikes? Tell us in the comments! 

Every year, winter will be one day shorter in the Netherlands due to climate change

Eva Gabriella
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Every year, winter will be one day shorter in the Netherlands due to climate change

In niet zo good news, climate specialist, Pieter Siegmund, has announced that winter days are getting shorter by at least a day each year due to global warming. 

Pieter Siegmund of the KNMI (Dutch weather institute) has announced that not only are winter days getting shorter, but they’re also getting warmer too, reports Trouw.

The Netherlands has lost about 13 snow days in 30 years which have been appearing later and later in the year each winter.

Rising temperatures

It’s no shock that the rise in temperatures globally is causing fewer snow days but it remains upsetting news nonetheless.

Between the years 1961 and 1990, snow days would occur as early as October and as late as April. Now, snow days are a rare sight between the months of December and February. Wat jammer!

A graph released by KNMI shows fewer winter days and warmer temperatures. Source: KNMI

The red line, compared to the blue, reveals that in 30 years, monthly temperatures have risen by 1.1 degrees Celsius on average.

READ MORE | Experts warm of huge upcoming wildfire risk in NL: “Uncontrollable”

How will Dutchies scratch their ice-skating itch if temps continue to rise at this rate? 🤨

Weeping in the wrath of the warmth

Several activities have been put on the back burner due to the growing warmth.

One especially cold-hearted instance is the Elfstedentocht — the biggest ice-skating tour over natural ice that hasn’t happened since 1997. 😲

READ MORE | Record’s broken: Warmest New Year’s Eve and Day ever recorded in the Netherlands

As a result of these temperamental temperatures, climate activists have been protesting against fossil fuels, by either targeting famous paintings or blocking the streets. 

What do you think about Siegmunds’ discovery? Tell us in the comments below!

Fugitive couple drives against highway traffic with their toddler in the backseat in Limburg

Francesca Burbano
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Fugitive couple drives against highway traffic with their toddler in the backseat in Limburg

The police arrested a couple on Saturday evening after driving in the opposite direction on the A2 highway with a one-year-old toddler in the backseat without a seatbelt. 

The couple fled from the police after they tried to extort money from people at a Market in Echt.

Once the police arrived at the scene, they both got in the car and drove off before the police could talk to them, reports NU.nl.

Dangerous driving in hopes to escape

Speeding through the Limburg village, the driver drove straight through a roadblock and across a roundabout. 

After the ghost driver intentionally drove against traffic on the A2, the police called off the chase for safety concerns. 

READ MORE | Amsterdam drops most inner-city speed limits to just 30 km/h from end of 2023

Another patrol car saw the car driving again, this time, on the other side of the highway. 

Eventually, the driver pulled over but decided that running was his best chance in escaping the police. He was, however, quickly caught, along with his 20-year-old Irish wife. 

The toddler is in safe hands

After the child was discovered in the backseat of the car, the police took the toddler to the police station. 

“At the station, we contacted the Youth Crisis Service, because being in a cell with mom and dad was obviously not an option,” the police stated.

The Child Protection Board will decide what the next steps are for the toddler but, until then, the child will be kept safe and protected. 

While it is not yet clear why the couple fled, the police are investigating the identity of the suspects. The couple is still detained because of a history of other fraud reports.

What do you think about this incident? Tell us in the comments below! 

Hundreds of climate activists arrested for blocking the A12 highway

Mihály Droppa
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Hundreds of climate activists arrested for blocking the A12 highway

768 climate protesters were arrested on the Utrechtsebaan of the A12 in the Hague yesterday afternoon. 

While most were released in two hours, two climate activists had to stay in the police station until the late hours of Sunday afternoon. 

The two activists had to stay longer because they didn’t want to disclose their identity, the NOS reports. 

Fight against fossil fuels

The protest was organised by Extinction Rebellion, a global climate movement, to raise awareness and protest against the government’s subsidies for fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas.

READ MORE: Dutchies chose “Climate adhesive” as their word of the year (and we kinda love it, here’s why)

Their main point of argument didn’t stop at subsidies, but tax breaks and government price support too. 

Blocked roads for hours

People who were driving on the A12 yesterday evening had an unlucky day. 

After half an hour of blocking the main roads, the police decided to herd the protestors on the Malieveld, an event venue in the Hague. 

Some of the protesters even glued themselves to the road as if it were a Van Gogh painting. 

Many of them refused to move and did not respond to the police’s deal proposal. 

After this, the police started to intervene and remove people one by one, which evidently took a lot of time for them. 

What do you think of the protest? Tell us in the comments!

Here’s how to check into Dutch public transport with your bank card

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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Here’s how to check into Dutch public transport with your bank card

Hoera! Starting January 31, you can check into NS trains using your debit or credit card. This means that, for the first time, contactless payment on public transport will be widely accepted across the Netherlands.

Yep, you heard that right! After rigorous trials, the long-awaited OVpay is officially here! And it’s only a few weeks late. 💪

For the most part, checking in with your debit card will be the same as checking in with an OV-Chipkaart. But of course, there are a few things you should know.

How does OVpay work?

As with a handy blue or yellow OV-Chipkaart, OVpay simply requires you to hold your pinpas against a scanner at the station. And hoera, after that, you are checked in! 🤩

Throughout the day, the cost of your rides will be added up, and debited from your bank account at the end of it.

READ MORE | A guide to night buses and night trains in the Netherlands

If you choose to pay with your phone’s contactless payment system instead, you will be debited for each trip separately and immediately. 🤳

What if I don’t have enough money on my debit card?

Good question! It happens to the best of us. Here’s what happens in that case: 

If the balance on your debit card is too low to pay for the trips of your day, then your card will be blocked for use on Dutch public transport. 🚫 💳

But this is not as harsh as it sounds: this blockade ends as soon as the due payments to the NS have been taken from your account. 

READ MORE | Public transport in the Netherlands: the complete guide

OVpay will try to take the money for past rides again at a later point and, as soon as you have enough money in your account, the blockade will be lifted.

Need to travel right away? Geen probleem (no problem)! 

Just add money to your account and hold it against the scanner. OVpay will then take the non-debited amounts from your account, and within 15 mintues, you can travel again.

How is OVpay different from the OV-Chipkaart?

While OVpay is certainly heel handig (very handy), there are some things the OV-Chipkaart just does better. 🤷‍♀️

For one, checking into public transport with your phone/credit card/debit card does not allow you to use any discount-subscriptions you may have. 

Student travel product? Nee. 40% off outside of rush hours? Nee. 

woman finding out how to check in Dutch public transport with your bank card
With OVpay, you can even check in using your phone or smartwatch! Image: NS Beeldbank

READ MORE | Train etiquette on Dutch trains: 8 things you’ll always see

On top of that, OVpay automatically checks you into second class. If you would like to travel like the royals, you will need to use an OV-Chipkaart to check into first class. 👑

What should you pay attention to when using OVpay?

If you plan on using OVpay, there are a few things to keep in mind to avoid complete OV chaos.

First off, it’s important to use the same card when checking in and out. If you use a different bank card, the pole will recognize that as a new check-in, and you will pay extra. 

If you already own OV-Chipkaart with a subscription on it, it might now be easy to mix the cards up. 

READ MORE | Dutch trains sucked more than usual in 2022, stats say

This also counts for those of us that like to hold our wallet against the OV Scanner. From now on, you will have to be careful not to accidentally let it scan both your OV card and your debit card.

What about my personal data?

At the announcement of the OVpay project, there was a lot of public worry about privacy. 🚄

“Fear not,” says the company itself: public transport companies cannot view your bank details, and your bank cannot see your travel details. 

This makes OVpay just as safe as a card payment at the supermarket. 

Will you be using OVpay? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

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