Tuition fees could rise by 140 euros

Gas, petrol and electricity are much more expensive than last year, and the price of our daily shop is soaring. Due to inflation, tuition fees for higher education may rise by 140 euros to around 2.350 euros.

This appears from a calculation by the Higher Education Press Department. That increase is nearly as high as that of the last four years combined. Usually, tuition fees only rise by around twenty euros.

Last January, inflation was 6.4 percent. The price rises may mean that in September 2023, students will be paying statutory tuition fees of 2.350 euros, or 141 euros more than now.

Pull out all the stops

“The cabinet must pull out all the stops to prevent tuition fees going up in the next academic year”, says Lisanne de Roos from the Dutch National Students Association.

Politicians are looking for solutions to compensate the loss of purchasing power in many different groups. “Students must not be forgotten”, says De Roos. “They too suffer from inflation and high energy prices. Hitting their wallets even harder would be incomprehensible.”

In principle, the cabinet can easily prevent the rise in tuition fees. No change to the law would be required. The law only states that the rate is adopted ‘by order in council’.

The annual calculation of the rate of tuition fees is published in an ‘executive order’ from 2008. For this, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) uses the consumer price index for the month of April. We don’t yet know how high inflation will then be.

Increased by half

In 2008, tuition fees were 1.565 euros. If they do rise by 140 euros, the statutory tuition fees will have increased by exactly 50 percent.