After a second compensation payment, that must be it for students who missed out

One more compensation payment for the unlucky students who missed out on the basic grant between 2015 and 2023, and then it’s over. That was the message from several parties who debated the issue in the House of Representatives.

Students who were studying under the loan system will receive a second compensation payment next year of 44,50 euros for each month in which they missed out on the basic grant. For a four-year degree, that amounts to more than 2,100 euros. This is on top of an earlier payment of almost 1,700 euros.

Is a second payment really necessary? Or is it still not enough? That was the subject of a debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Abolished

The basic grant was abolished in September 2015 and reinstated eight years later. Politicians thought this was ‘bitter’ for the students caught in between, so compensation was introduced soon afterwards. And now there will be another payment.

The first compensation payment cost around one billion euros, and the government will spend 1.4 billion euros on the second. The government believes the matter should be put to rest after that.

This bill for a second compensation payment was, incidentally, drawn up by the previous government, made up of the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB. The current coalition parties (D66, CDA and VVD) have taken it over.

No compensation

The payment doesn’t fully compensate students, particularly those who lived away from home for the whole duration of their studies. The Socialist Party and DENK still think it’s not enough.

Others take the opposite view. JA21 and Group Markuszower think it’s a lot of money. They point out that everyone will receive compensation, including those ‘who may have a huge salary and have incurred no debt at all’.

They refer to the criticism from the Council of State, which saw no need for compensation. The loan system was not that bad, the government’s advisers said, and it remains to be seen whether this will really bring the debate over compensation for students who missed out to a close.

Drawing a line

But many parties fall somewhere in between and believe this latest compensation can draw a line under the matter. This includes opposition party PRO. This party is a merger of the former PvdA and GroenLinks who, at the time, joined D66 and VVD in laying the foundations for the loan system, but later turned against it.

Education minister Rianne Letschert therefore faced little difficulty in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. “As far as I’m concerned, this puts the past behind us and allows us to look to the future.”

April

If all goes well, students will receive the compensation payment next April. It will be deducted from their student debt. Those without student debt will have it paid into their bank account. They will, however, need to provide their details in time.

More changed when the loan system was introduced than just the abolition of the basic grant. The repayment period was extended, and former students were also allowed to pay lower monthly instalments. That has remained the case now that the basic grant has returned. Anyone unable to repay their student debt will eventually have it written off.

Interest rates are relatively low compared to commercial rates. But the rate is rising, which many students didn’t expect. Therefore, the government wants to cap interest on student debt at no more than 2.5 per cent. This is also a matter of debate: some parties want to reduce it to zero per cent, but that would cost billions of euros more.