Students removed from school council due to poor Dutch: Is that allowed?

The two students from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences were elected in December as members of the central participation council (cmr). However, they were dismissed because they could not participate in meetings conducted in Dutch.

This is definitely not allowed, as indicated by legal advice from emeritus professor of Education law Paul Zoontjens. According to national and European law, all enrolled students are eligible to stand for election to a school council. The educational institution is required to facilitate council members in performing their duties, for example, by providing an interpreter.

The decision has therefore been reversed, the university announced on Friday. Zoontjens examined the issue at the request of Zuyd University itself. The board wanted an independent expert’s opinion on the matter.

Chairman of the cmr, Werner Eussen, expressed his pleasure with the advice. “A professional interpreter simply needs to be provided”, he says. According to him, the board at Zuyd was initially unwilling to cover the costs, and the cmr does not have a budget for it either.

However, Zoontjens also criticises the cmr and the election committee. They cannot simply remove members; otherwise, it becomes too easy to disrupt the democratic process. In response, Eussen states that he has “acted in good conscience, based on the rules available to us.”

The two Italians, Vito and Giuseppe, are studying international business and European studies. According to the press release from Zuyd, they are ‘happy with the outcome’.

Maar hoe zit het aan andere hogescholen en universiteiten? We peilden zestien hogescholen, waaronder vier kunsthogescholen, en veertien universiteiten.

At universities of applied sciences (hogescholen) international students are always allowed to participate in participatory bodies, although this doesn’t always happen. For example, Hogeschool Leiden has only had an English-language bachelor’s degree since last year, and that is a part-time programme. Therefore, Dutch is the working language in the central council, and there has not been a need for translations or interpreters.

Other universities of applied sciences typically hold meetings in Dutch. At Saxion, an interpreter is present so that international students can participate in discussions. At Hogeschool Utrecht, there is sometimes a need for a sign language interpreter. At Fontys, they use translation apps or so-called buddies to assist with translation.

However, it does not work everywhere. At Avans, a foreign student joined the school council. The meeting documents were translated, but the other members continued speaking in Dutch. Various translation apps were tried, but “in the end, it became clear that a translation from spoken Dutch to written English was unfortunately insufficient due to delays during the translation process”, the spokesperson said. “As a result, the student could not adequately participate.”

And what about the art academies? Many students from outside the Netherlands study there and speak English in the councils. They are, as the Amsterdam University of the Arts puts it, playfully bilingual. Sometimes, Dutch-speaking students or staff find it difficult to make their point in English and revert to Dutch, the spokesperson explains. If necessary, someone else provides a translation.

At universities, playfully bilingual is referred to as lingua receptiva or receptive multilingualism. The idea is that understanding is often easier than speaking. Dutch people generally have a good understanding of English but express themselves better in their mother tongue, while international staff often speak English, although they understand Dutch fairly well. Thus, English and Dutch can be mixed.

Utrecht, Nijmegen, and Groningen work with this approach, while Tilburg is experimenting with it. In Wageningen, the working language is Dutch, but they switch to English if someone doesn’t understand.

Some universities conduct everything in English, such as Erasmus University. Others meet in Dutch, like Delft and the University of Amsterdam, but interpreters are present.

Only in Leiden there is a barrier for international students wishing to join the university council: they must be proficient in Dutch at B1 level, or ‘simple Dutch’. Documents are not routinely translated there; it only happens when necessary.

Is it permissible to require governance members to speak Dutch? According to Zoontjens, such requirements can be imposed when students enrol, not afterwards. Insisting that everything must be in Dutch is, in any case, difficult to defend when attracting international students with English-language programmes, the legal expert argues.

Students cannot yet be required to take a Dutch course, Zoontjens warns, at least not until the proposed Internationalisation in Balance Act (Wib) is passed.

The Wib states that educational institutions must teach Dutch to their international students, Zoontjens explains. This is a new development. Until now, institutions only had to improve language proficiency for Dutch students. If the new law is enacted, such language requirements will be defensible.

The Wib still needs to be discussed by the House of Representatives.