Universities to limit courses taught in English, promote Dutch more

Universities are taking measures to reduce the influx of international students and increase the Dutch language skills of students and employees. The 14 universities have agreed on steps to ensure this.

No new English-language bachelor’s programs will be developed for the time being. The universities will also inventory which courses are currently taught in English and can be switched entirely to Dutch. Active recruitment at international fairs is no longer allowed, although the institutions make an exception for sectors with significant labor market shortages.

The universities also agreed that major bachelor’s degrees must at least also be offered in Dutch. Consider, for example, economics or psychology.

“On the one hand, we stand for internationalization, but we also see that social and political questions are being raised about the model we had,” said chairman Jouke de Vries of the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL). The association wants to “work seriously on solving the bottlenecks.” The universities want to retain their autonomy. “It was quite complicated to get them on the same page,” said De Vries.

The universities believe that knowledge of the Dutch language and culture must be improved. “I think we have paid too little attention to this in the past,” acknowledges De Vries, who is also chairman of the board of the University of Groningen (RUG). The universities want to do something about this with modules and courses for students and employees.

For years, great efforts have been made to attract international students, but in recent years, the focus has shifted more to the disadvantages thereof. For example, the accessibility of courses for Dutch students may be compromised if international students register en masse. The already scarce living space in student cities is also a concern.

According to the latest figures, the inflow from abroad is already declining slightly. “You could almost say that the problem is already solving itself,” said De Vries. Yet the universities would like more options. High on their wish list is a numerus fixus, a maximum number of students, for the English-language part of a course. That is also part of a bill that Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf is working on. According to UNL, this measure is “essential” to control the influx.

Demi Janssen, chairman of the Intercity Student Consultation (ISO), called the universities’ measures to reduce the influx of international students “promising plans in the right direction.” However, she warned that its implementation would take time.

“And time is running out because lecture halls are full, courses can no longer guarantee a place for all students, and finding a student room feels like a lottery.”

The ISO is, therefore, of the opinion that politicians should give universities tools to realize their plans. The organization wants to see proposals from outgoing Education Minister Dijkgraaf on this topic “carefully but quickly.”