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The Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science, Robbert Dijkgraaf, has sent a letter to all public universities in the Netherlands, asking them to immediately stop admitting international students.
This comes after a parliamentary motion, led by Peter Kwint and Harry van der Molen, was passed that called on Dijkgraaf to limit international student recruitment efforts.
The letter emphasized the significance of international students but noted that the pressure on teaching staff, lack of facilities, and shortage of housing has necessitated the request.
Dijkgraaf stated that in the long term, this could also affect the sustainability, affordability, and quality of the Dutch higher education system.
Specific programs exempted: Dijkgraaf has advised universities to follow a framework that requires a complete stop to operations aimed at attracting foreign students, except for highly selective and targeted recruitment for programs that address regional shortages in the fields of healthcare, research, and education.
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Universities are also responsible for helping these students find post-graduate employment in areas where there is a shortage of qualified candidates.
Opposition to the move: Many stakeholders, including a group of university chairs, have already expressed opposition to the parliamentary motion. Wittenborg, a business school in Apeldoorn, has opposed the decision to halt the recruitment of international students.
The business school, which has 1,200 students from 100 different countries and operates entirely in English, argued that as a privately funded institution that can invest in and construct its student housing, it should be allowed to continue with its operations…
