Cabinet violates agreement, so Maastricht recruits foreign students again

Maastricht University is recruiting students from Belgium and Germany again. This goes against national agreements, but the cabinet also broke its word, the university chair says. “For us, the agreement no longer exists.”

Universities were expected to be ‘cautious’ in recruiting foreign students, as stated in the administrative agreement with the former minister of Education, Robbert Dijkgraaf. Last year, universities even promised him to stop recruiting, except for shortage sectors in the labour market.

However, a few things have changed since then. The additional funding for research from Dijkgraaf disappeared after the elections. Some investments from the administrative agreement have also been partially cut.

This has prompted Maastricht University to change course, as reported by the university magazine Observant on Monday. Maastricht is the most international university in the Netherlands and is being severely affected by the declining international influx, a spokesperson for the university says. Therefore, the institution is recruiting again across the border.

No large fairs

For the bachelor’s programmes in brain science and regenerative medicine and technology, the university is looking for Belgian and German students. The institution is also considering these countries for the yet-to-start bachelor’s programme in sustainable bioscience. The programmes require international students for a ‘healthy’ number of enrolments, the university told Observant.

The programmes are mostly recruiting online but are also visiting schools in neighbouring countries. The Limburg university says it is still avoiding large education fairs where universities from around the world promote their courses.

Agreement broken

The current minister of Education is violating the administrative agreement by cutting funding for starter and incentive grants, says Executive Board Chair Rianne Letschert. From her perspective, that agreement is now off the table: “For us, the agreement no longer exists.”

The universities association UNL states in response that the agreements of universities to stop recruiting still stand. However, the spokesperson does show some understanding: “We are in a different context than last year, with declining student numbers and significant budget cuts.”