Dutch universities sued over English-language courses

Association Beter Onderwijs Nederland (BON) is filing a lawsuit against the University of Twente, Maastricht University, and the Inspectorate for Education in an effort to halt higher education in the Netherlands turning increasingly English, ANP reports.

According to BON, "the care of Dutch language and culture is a core task for higher education". The association believes that switching to teaching in English is contrary to the law. "Dutch threatens to become a kind of provincial language", BON chairman Ad Verbrugge said.

In principle educational institutions should teach in Dutch, BON said. According to the association, teaching in English is mainly done to attract more foreign students and generate income from them. That is "improper use of public resources" and switching to English leads "irrevocably to language deterioration" and poorer quality education, according to BON.

When this case will appear is not yet clear. Verbrugge said that he hopes it happens within a month.