Who should be the sugar daddy, home or host country?
Last week the Dutch government made an announcement. There are plans to limit the study financing for international students. Only a month before that, Austria and the Netherlands were complaining about the large amount of German students they have to pay for. The discussion is on-going, who should pay for international students; the home or the host country?
Ben Kinnard, master student Finance and Investments (from United Kingdom)
“You have to decide which country benefits the most from the education of the student. One could say it is the country where the student stays after his or her graduation. Then that country should pay for the study. Of course that is not that easy, so the Netherlands could install an extra condition with the study financing. If you don’t stay after graduation you have to pay it back.
For me the study financing is not relevant, but I do get a loan from the Dutch government. I believe that is really fair as the interest is low and it was communicated well. In the UK you can get a loan for your bachelor, but not for your master. Moreover, doing a master in the UK is very expensive, over 20,000 euros.”
Jose Albuquerque, master student General Management (from Portugal)
“If you want to have diversity in your knowledge and you want to keep it in the country, you have to invest in it. Therefore, the country where you are studying should pay, as it wants to attract the knowledge. Of course this is only useful if you can keep the talent. For example, most people who get educated in Portugal leave directly after their studies, so Portugal does not benefit from the education.
I think the study financing also plays a part in attracting talent. Even in Europe there are differences in the standard of living. Take the Netherlands and Greece for example, some of these students can only come here because of the study financing. Thus, by not offering it, these students would not be attracted. Moreover, there is no certainty that Dutch students will stay in the Netherlands after their graduation either.”
Ming-I Chen, exchange student IBA (from Taiwan)
“If the Netherlands wants to attract high quality students it should also support them. The current policies force students to work besides their studies. Most international students want to focus on their studies, which makes working impossible.
In a lot of other countries the host universities provide scholarships. If the Netherlands could implement such as system it would already be better. In this way you can increase the international mobility. It will make it easier for students to come and live here. However, besides the financial picture the Netherlands has additional advantages compared to the other European countries. Dutch people are all willing to speak English in their daily lives, which is not always the case in other countries.”JV
