Education minister Eppo Bruins has published his proposals for reducing the use of English at Dutch universities and colleges, and they are tougher in some aspects than the previous government had planned.

In particular, Bruins said no more than one-third of the classes in most bachelor degree programmes should be in other languages and a special committee will have to approve all bachelor degree courses which will be English only. Currently one in three bachelor courses in the Netherlands are in other languages and half are a mixture of Dutch and English.

Reasons for offering English only degrees could be a shortage of people in the domestic jobs market, being located in a border area, because it is the only course of its type or because the international nature of the subject matter makes this essential, Bruins said in a briefing to MPs.

But he said he was keen to ensure that English-only courses become the exception rather than the rule.

Universities will also be able to apply a maximum to the number of students for all non-Dutch degree courses and if that measure does not have the necessary impact, universities will be given less funding per student, Bruins said.

The government also wants to cut back on financial support for EU students, who can claim a Dutch grant if they work a certain number of hours, and Bruins said more details on that move will be published later. He also plans to introduce higher fees for non-EER students.

The measures will save some €300 million in the short term, according to the right-wing government’s coalition agreement.

Some 20% of bachelor students come from abroad and this is leading to “shortages of student accommodation, overcrowded lecture theatres and pressure on students,” Bruins said.

At the same time, the minister said the major shortages on the Dutch labour market make it necessary to attract talented international students. More also needs to be done to encourage them to stay in the Netherlands after completing their degree, he said.

Currently, 19% of EER and 25% of other foreign students stay in the country, according to figures from education research group Nuffic.

The documents did not include mention of compulsory Dutch language courses, as mooted earlier, but did say universities are required to improve Dutch students’ ability to express themselves in Dutch and that this obligation would be extended to all students.

“It is about the language skills in Dutch in the broad sense,” Bruins said. “I am committed to making clear agreements with institutions about this, to be able to monitor the results and to exchange information about best practices.”

Dutch will also become the standard language on university and college management boards.

Universities angry

“The cabinet is using a blunt axe to hack at universities and colleges,” said Caspar van den Berg, chairman of university association UNL. The measures will cut the number of courses available, both in the central urban belt and in more rural areas, he said.

Some Dutch language courses will also be hit by the measures because they are partly financed with the income from foreign students, he said.  

Student union LSVB said the government is “flexing its muscles” but that the plans will not solve the financial problems facing universities. Universities attract so many foreign students because of the money they bring in, said chairman Abdelkader Karbache. “It’s the wrong way of making money, but that is what has been happening.”

The rules will not apply to masters degrees or research positions.

Lower standards

Earlier this month it emerged that most of the Netherlands’ 13 universities have fallen on the latest Times Higher Education ranking, and none now remain in the top 50.

“The new coalition government, with the far-right PVV now the largest party, has proposed restrictions on international students and researchers, including limitations on English-language instruction and higher tuition fees for students from outside the European Union,” the organisation pointed out.