Graduating before 1 September? You will receive 535 euros compensation

The Dutch government foresees many students will suffer delays in their progress to graduation. So, all students graduating in higher education this academic year will receive 535 euros in compensation, equivalent to three months’ tuition fees. The compensation is also applicable to international students.

This has just been announced by Minister Van Engelshoven. For university students, this applies if they obtain their master degree. In higher professional education, it applies for all kinds of diplomas: bachelor, master or ad-diploma.

If they lose their entitlement to a supplementary grant in these months (up to 31 August), students enrolled in university and higher professional education will also receive compensation. This will amount to 1,500 euros. All the information is available on the DUO website.

Proof

This is a generic measure. Students therefore do not need to prove that the delay they have incurred in their studies (if that is the case) was actually caused by the pandemic. Assessing this would be too time consuming, so the Ministry prefers to compensate all these students.

Students do not need to apply for the compensation. DUO, the department for student finance, will check whether they are eligible and transfer the funds.

For this second round, the cabinet has reserved 135 million euros, on top of the 200 million euros already reserved. Similar measures were also applied to students enrolled in intermediate vocational education, but for different amounts. Student finance and tuition fees for these students are different than for those in higher education.

Gesture

In its initial reaction, Dutch National Students Association (ISO) said they were happy with the gesture but would prefer to see higher compensation. “A month’s delay in their studies easily costs a student an extra thousand euros,” says president Dahran Çoban. “If you are delayed by more than three months, this compensation doesn’t even cover your tuition fees.”

Last week, various parties in the House of Representatives had already asked the cabinet to consider extra compensation for students.

The coronavirus compensation only applies to final-year students. The cabinet does not plan to compensate students in lower years, as Minister Van Engelshoven announced last year. The idea is that they may be able to catch up later.