Student organisations have added their voices to calls for a temporary brake on international student numbers, ahead of the publication of new government measures next month.

International students now account for 40% of first years and this is having an impact on the quality of degree courses, the LSVB and ISO told news website Nu.nl.

On Wednesday MPs called on the government to bring in permanent limits but that would be going too far, given the added value foreign students bring, the associations said.

Nevertheless, ‘something has to happen because the numbers are impacting on quality,’ the ISO said. For example, the ISO said, lecturers face problems reaching so many students and marking their exams, and there is less time for individual help.

At the same time, some lecturers have poor English skills which is also having an impact on standards, the student groups argue. The shortage of housing is an additional problem.

‘Students need to be made aware that they have to find a place to live before coming to the Netherlands to study,’ the ISO said.