{"id":173304,"date":"2024-11-13T16:05:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T15:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=173304"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:35","slug":"another-drop-in-foreign-students-at-dutch-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/11\/13\/another-drop-in-foreign-students-at-dutch-universities\/","title":{"rendered":"Another drop in foreign students at Dutch universities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Universities attracted 6 per<\/span> cent fewer international <\/span>bachelor<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s students this academic year. And this is even before the govern<\/span>ment<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s strict plans come into effect. The universities<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>association, UNL, fears <\/span>‘<\/span>an indiscriminate cull’<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It was particularly bachelor<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s students from Europe (EEA) who sought opportun<\/span>ities elsewhere, according to UNL. Their numbers fell by 9 per<\/span> cent. Last <\/span>year was the first time international intake declined.<\/span><\/p>\n

A positive note is that more Dutch students <\/span>than expected enrolled<\/span>. The min<\/span>istry had predicted a drop in domestic enrolment, but universities reported a 1 <\/span>percent increase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Total numbers<\/h2>

In total, counting both first-year and returning students, the fourteen major <\/span>universities now have slightly fewer students enrolled than last year: 338,400 <\/span>compared to 340,000. University-specific figures are not yet available, as <\/span>these are the first preliminary counts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The University of Groningen has already reported that EU student enrolment <\/span>in September was down by 14 per<\/span> cent. At VU Amsterdam, international enrol<\/span>ment has dropped by 23.5 per cent. Currently, 21 per<\/span> cent of VU<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s bachelor<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>students are from abroad, and the administration believes it should not fall be<\/span>low 20 per cent. For this reason, VU is now putting an end to its <\/span>\u201c<\/span>rebalancing\u201d <\/span>of internationalisation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Less recruitment<\/h2>

Six months ago, universities themselves decided to reduce the international <\/span>intake. This was done at the request of The Hague, but the institutions also <\/span>felt the growth could not continue indefinitely. They decided to provide more <\/span>instruction in Dutch and scale back recruitment abroad.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, this decision was made under the previous cabinet. The new cabinet <\/span>now plans to cut 293 million euros from international student budgets as <\/span>quickly as possible and impose much stricter oversight on English-language <\/span>education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Full brake<\/h2>

UNL chair Caspar van den Berg fears this could endanger the survival of some <\/span>programmes, <\/span>\u2018<\/span>including for Dutch students<\/span>\u2018.<\/span> According to him, other coun<\/span>tries are actively pursuing more international talent and are prioritising re<\/span>search and innovation. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The Dutch cabinet, on the other hand, is doing the op<\/span>posite: slamming on the brakes and adding several major cuts on top of that.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t

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