The government wanted to subject all English-taught Bachelor’s programmes to a test to assess whether there were legitimate reasons not to offer them in Dutch instead.
For a long time, this plan was supported by the four ruling parties, PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB. The current government wants to curb the number of foreign students at Dutch institutions, and reducing the number of English-taught programmes would be an easy way to achieve this.
Uncertainty
But the plans plunged the higher education sector into uncertainty, compounding the recent budget cuts and dwindling enrolment figures. Companies and local governments in regions dealing with population decline were also concerned about the plans.
Last week, NSC was the first cabinet party to make an about-face, and now the VVD has done the same. Both parties are backing a CDA motion to scrap the ‘foreign-language instruction test’ for existing Bachelor’s programmes, which is set to receive a majority this Tuesday afternoon.
One of the reasons for this course correction is that there’s already a decline in the number of foreign students enrolling in Bachelor’s programmes. Moreover, the universities have submitted a proposal outlining how they plan to manage internationalisation themselves, earning them praise from policymakers.
“This is really good news”, said UM president Rianne Letschert to Observant. According to her, this shows that politicians have a lot of attention “for the widespread dissent from all kinds of parties, and certainly also from border regions like ours. A voice that was based on the need for enough international talent, of being able to continue to operate in an international setting from our Euregion.” The passed motion is a good step, she continues. “Now it is up to the Minister of Education to turn this important message from the House of Representatives into reality.””
Amendment
In light of these developments, the motion’s signatories are asking the government to amend the Balanced Internationalisation bill. Rather than introducing a language test, they suggest that the education minister should reach a ‘binding administrative agreement’ with educational institutions.
PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB initially wanted to cut 293 million euros a year from the education budget for foreign students. After reaching a compromise with the Christian opposition parties and JA21, this figure was reduced to 168 million euros a year, a target that appears to have already been met.
The language of instruction of new Bachelor’s programmes remains a point of discussion. Moving forward, a committee tasked with assessing the ‘effectiveness’ of higher education will also assess the usefulness and necessity of ‘foreign-language’ instruction before a new programme can start.
HOP/WD