‘Dutch by default’: Netherlands seeks curbs on English-language university courses

As Britain voted to leave the EU, Dutch universities began offering more courses in English and foreigners streamed in.

But with 122,287 international students in higher education in the Netherlands – 15% of all the country’s students – the government is proposing a cap on the number of students from outside the European Economic Area in some subjects and forcing universities to offer at least two-thirds of the content of standard bachelor’s degrees in Dutch, unless a university justifies an exemption.

International students may also be required to learn basic Dutch, in an effort to increase their chances of staying in the Netherlands and injecting much-needed workforce skills.

“My starting point is that the language of education is Dutch,” said the education minister, Robbert Dijkgraaf. “There can be room in the curriculum for another language, but my proposal is that it should not be more than a third. That means that most of your education is in Dutch, but if you want to give a few specialist subjects in English, that is allowed.

“Exceptions are possible, but will need special permission … [For example] if you want to attract the best violinists in the world, it might help to offer this education in English.”

This is a change of tone in one of the world’s most internationally connected places, with widespread English proficiency and impressive digital skills.

Last year, in response to a housing crisis, some Dutch universities wrote to international students warning them not to come unless they had already secured accommodation. Dijkgraaf also asked institutions to stop actively recruiting abroad. Meanwhile, the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, has suggested international residents should do more to learn Dutch.

“The current law says ‘Dutch by default’, there’s a huge hole in the net and everyone swims through it,” Dijkgraaf said. “So we have to formulate the exceptions precisely. It might look like you allow more exceptions, but I think it’s the other way around.”

His bill, to be published shortly, followed by a summer consultation, would come into force in September 2024. But it has already received mixed reactions.

David Schindler, an associate professor of economics at Tilburg University, pointed to research suggesting international students gave back more financially than they cost – up to €17,000 (£14,500) for a European student and between €69,000 and €94,000 for non-European students, because a quarter stay on after completing their degrees. He called the proposals “truly insane”.

“Universities should teach what is most helpful to their students but mandating this top-down is going to kill a substantial part of Dutch academia,” he said. “What concerns me most is the drop in research quality I foresee, while research and innovation are some of the biggest drivers of economic growth.”

Jeanet van der Laan, an MP for the liberal D66 party, said high-level Dutch language skills needed to be preserved but voiced concerns about the bill. “Conservative parties are proposing to force all international students to follow part of the curriculum in Dutch,” she said. “This high threshold would make ambitious, international talents think twice before registering in our country, so we will miss out on talent we want.”

The Universities of the Netherlands Association, however, believes local students should improve their Dutch and international students should learn it. “There are still possibilities for English-language education,” said its spokesperson, Ruben Puylaert. “But we do believe this national control … interferes with the autonomy of universities.”

More Dutch students could also study abroad, according to Saoradh Favier, a researcher at the Nuffic organisation for internationalisation. “We expect [the] planned measures will allow universities to bring student numbers more in line with capacity, while maintaining the positives of internationalisation,” she added.

Aziza Filal, the chair of Amsterdam’s ASVA student union, said: “If [more] bachelor’s [degrees] are in Dutch, they won’t be accessible to internationals any more, which is a shame. On the other hand, if you stop ‘Englishing’ degrees, the stream will be far smaller. You see, internationals can’t get houses and often go back to their home country after sleeping for months in hostels, having lost a lot of money.”

Fewer students could mean a better university experience: research suggests international students are most likely to suffer from study stress and, according to Dijkgraaf, once aspiring students had moved to the Netherlands “we need to take care of you properly”.

There could be positives elsewhere, Schindler added: “A few people have posted that this will be a great opportunity for British or Swedish universities!”