Only rich "white elite" can study in Amsterdam: Univ. students concerned

Studying in Amsterdam seems to be becoming increasingly only for the "white elite", according to student union ASVA and Amsterdam United. Especially young people with financially less well-off parents and young people with a non-Western background have a hard time getting into higher education in the Dutch capital, Metro Nieuws reports.

"Education is increasingly only for the white elite. Action must be taken now", Henriette Hoogervorst, chairman of ASVA, said to the newspaper.

A recent report by the Education Inspectorate showed that accessibility to higher education still has some major problems, according to Metro. The socio-economic class and origin of students are still major factors in whether a student will continue onto higher education, and whether he or she will succeed once there. In addition, the threshold to be admitted to a Dutch university is increasingly high due to stricter selection criteria.

AVSA and Amsterdam United are calling on political parties to seriously look at and address the inequality in higher education. According to the organizations, the diversity policy at universities and colleges urgently needs to be updated.