ANPStudents in Utrecht
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 09:10
In the past academic year, almost 123,000 international students completed a higher vocational education or university course in the Netherlands. That is an increase of 8,000 compared to the previous year. These students represent 15 percent of all students in higher education, reports CBS.
The vast majority came from Europe: more than 90,000, mainly from Germany. A total of 20,000 students came from Asia, which is also a small increase compared to the 2021/2022 academic year. This is followed by North and South America (more than 5,000 students), Africa (more than 2,000) and Oceania (160).
At the end of last month, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) reported that this year more international students from outside the EU are coming to the Netherlands for a new study. From January to July asked 17,870 foreign students applied for a residence permit, about 1,200 more than in the same period last year. In the meantime, the discussion is ongoing as to whether this growth should not be slowed down.
Outgoing Education Minister Dijkgraaf said earlier this year that the number of international students must be reduced. “In addition to an accelerator, we also need a brake and, above all, a steering wheel,” the minister said. According to him, the increase leads to all kinds of problems.
For example, the lecture halls are overcrowded, there is a lack of housing and teachers are faced with a high workload. According to him, the accessibility of education for Dutch students is also at stake. He fears that if no action is taken, the quality of colleges and universities will deteriorate to such an extent “that this will undermine our international top position”.
Measures
To get a handle on the number of international students, he proposed several measures. For example, he believes that in the future, at least two-thirds of the subjects in Dutch-language courses should be taught in Dutch. Now that the government has fallen, it is unclear what will happen to those plans.
Watch a video from NOSop3 with more explanation about the problem here:
European laws make it difficult for universities to stop the arrival of international students from EU countries. Due to agreements on free movement of people, they are obliged to admit students. At the end of last year, Dijkgraaf called on universities and colleges to stop actively recruiting foreign students.
Several universities asked international students not to come to the Netherlands last summer if they could not find a room before the start of the new academic year.
2023-09-08 07:10:23
#Increase #international #students #Netherlands #increase
