The Netherlands’ universities of technology have warned they may have to restrict new admissions to their current level unless the government increases its funding.

Student numbers at the four institutions in Delft, Eindhoven, Enschede and Wageningen have increased in the last decade from 32,000 to 53,000. This is leading to overcrowded lecture halls and putting pressure on resources, said Victor van der Chijs, chairman of the federation of technical universities.

‘The increase is so great that we may have to impose restrictions,’ Van der Chijs told AD. ‘That means focusing more rigorously on quality and taking on only the best foreign students. Unless we receive more money.’

Education minister Jet Bussemaker said the government had no plans to make more money available and did not object to the idea of limiting student numbers.

‘Quality is the most important thing,’ she told NOS Radio 1 Journaal. ‘Sometimes we need to set a fixed number in order to maintain it.’

Bussemaker also announced on Monday that the government would be investing €7.5mln in combating inequality by making it easier for pupils to transfer between the different levels of secondary schooling.