Adjusted internationalisation bill sent to Council of State

The much-discussed bill aimed at reducing the amount of English-language education at universities and universities of applied sciences is being sent to the Council of State for advice. The bill had to be adjusted at the request of the House of Representatives.

For years, politicians have debated how to reduce the international influx at universities of applied sciences and especially universities. Several ministers have submitted bills, but none have made it across the finish line so far.

Now, Education Minister Gouke Moes is making a new attempt to move the Internationalisation in Balance Act (Wib) one step further. He is sending the bill to the Council of State for advice.

Moes is the successor to Eppo Bruins, who in turn inherited the bill from Robbert Dijkgraaf. Despite the fall of the cabinet, Moes has been allowed by the House of Representatives to continue working on it.

Relaxation

Last year, Eppo Bruins had to promise the House of Representatives that the proposed language test in the bill would be relaxed. That test would have forced English-language programmes to switch to Dutch unless they had a strong justification for using English.

The relaxation: the test will not apply to existing programmes. New programmes will still be subject to the language test. They will have to prove to the efficiency committee that there is a need for a new non-Dutch-language programme.

Third time

In fact, this is the third time such a bill is being sent to the Council of State. The first proposal, by Ingrid van Engelshoven, was found by the Council in 2019 to lack clarity about what problem it was meant to solve. The second proposal, from Dijkgraaf, was considered too strict in parts, especially for existing programmes.

The House of Representatives demanded a relaxation of the language test last year for several reasons. The growth in the number of international students was less than expected, and especially outside the Randstad, educational institutions and businesses expressed concerns about the proposed policy and potential labour market shortages.

Budget cuts

Universities had previously promised Dijkgraaf to stop actively recruiting international students. As a result, the international student budget cut proposed by the Schoof cabinet was more or less achieved automatically.

The Council of State usually takes about two months to issue its advice. In principle, the bill will then go to the House of Representatives.