{"id":171832,"date":"2024-10-02T10:38:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T08:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=171832"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:29","slug":"will-i-get-that-penalty-for-slow-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/10\/02\/will-i-get-that-penalty-for-slow-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Will I get that penalty for slow students?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In September 2026, the first students will receive a slow-progress penalty. That is, if the plans of the government go ahead. Let\u2019s remind ourselves: who will get the penalty, will any exceptions be made and is there still a chance the plan won\u2019t make it?<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Gorzeman<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Students are furious and higher education institutions also think the slow-progress penalty is a bad plan by the new government. But for the moment, this doesn\u2019t seem to bother coalition parties PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB.<\/p>\n

The bill isn\u2019t here yet, but its outlines can be inferred from the announced cutbacks and comments by the four coalition parties.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the slow-progress penalty again?<\/strong><\/p>

The government wants to add three thousand euros to the tuition fees for students who take longer than one year extra to finish their degree. By that time, the regular tuition fees will be around 2,600 euros per year, which would then become 5,600 euros.<\/p>

What does \u2018longer than one year extra\u2019 mean?<\/strong><\/p>

The penalty will, for example, apply to third-year students in a one-year Master\u2019s programme, but also sixth-year Bachelor\u2019s students at a university of applied sciences and fifth-year Bachelor\u2019s students at a research university.<\/p>

I\u2019ve been studying for a few years already, so how was I supposed to see this coming? If I had, I might have worked less and borrowed more.<\/strong><\/p>

Be that as it may, the measure also applies to current students. The government\u2019s austerity measure is scheduled to take effect in September 2026.<\/p>\n\t

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\n\t\tIt is still unclear who escapes the dance and\u2014also importantly\u2014who gets to decide that\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

How many students will get the penalty?<\/strong><\/p>

The government wants to save 285 million euros, which translates to 95 thousand slow-progress penalties. You pay tuition each month, so if you graduate halfway through the year, you will \u2013 in principle \u2013 pay half the penalty.<\/p>

I switched study programmes twice, but I\u2019m on schedule now. Will I still get a slow-progress penalty?<\/strong><\/p>

Yes, probably. A delay is a delay, even if it\u2019s due to picking the wrong programme.<\/p>

Can\u2019t they make an exception?<\/strong><\/p>

There will certainly be exceptions, but don\u2019t count on anything. It\u2019s not yet clear who will dodge this bullet and \u2013 not entirely unimportant \u2013 who will get to determine this. Last week, coalition party NSC said that serving on a student committee for a year and \u2018personal circumstances\u2019 are possible reasons to take longer to complete a study programme, but this doesn\u2019t apply to \u2018switching programmes\u2019.<\/p>

I\u2019m studying flexibly: I progress through the programme at my own pace and pay per credit. Will I now have to hurry all of a sudden?<\/strong><\/p>

This will be tricky. All kinds of parties want to make higher education more flexible, so students can choose their own pace, but what happens when they make use of this option and actually take longer to finish their studies? That remains to be seen. By the way, the same goes for part-time students.<\/p>

The mental health of young people is already in such a bad state and now the slow-progress penalty is being piled on top!<\/strong><\/p>

NSC, for example, doesn\u2019t see it like that. It\u2019s simply to be an \u2018incentive\u2019 not to take way too long to complete your programme. VVD said something similar before the summer holiday: it\u2019s not a fine, but a higher personal contribution. The opposition begs to differ: they see the pressure on students increasing.<\/p>

Will this plan make it through the Senate and House of Representatives without any problems?<\/strong><\/p>

That\u2019s very much the question. The coalition may have a majority in the House of Representatives, but not in the Senate. NSC doesn\u2019t hold any seats there. BBB, VVD and PVV jointly occupy 29 out of 75 seats. This means the coalition needs another nine votes in the Senate.<\/p>

Who will provide those votes?<\/strong><\/p>

50Plus and the regional political parties (OPNL) have one seat each. The government may be able to persuade them. JA21, SGP and Forum voor Democratie (FvD) have seven seats between them, which would bring the total to nine. But FvD seems to be opposed to the penalty, having supported a motion in the House of Representatives that calls it a \u2018terrible idea\u2019.<\/p>

And will students protest?<\/strong><\/p>

Of course they will. The next protest has already been announced<\/a>: Friday 18 October at 12 noon in the park opposite Den Haag Centraal railway station.<\/p>

Aren\u2019t there any young people amongst the constituents of the coalition parties?<\/strong><\/p>

Yes, and they\u2019re not happy. Both the political youth branches of VVD and NSC are against the slow-progress penalty. The BBB youth branch didn\u2019t say anything when the four parties concluded the outline agreement. The PVV voters also included<\/a> many young people, but they don\u2019t have their own club, because the PVV isn\u2019t a membership party.<\/p>\n\t

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