Record numbers of students, but no government funding rise

NETHERLANDS

A record number of over 300,000 bachelor and masters degree students enrolled at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences for the 2019-20 academic year, according to preliminary figures released by the association of Dutch universities VSNU. The association calls on the government to invest more in higher education, so that universities can keep up with the continuous growth in student numbers, writes Janene Pieters for NL Times.

The number of students enrolled at higher education institutions in the Netherlands increased by around 4%. International students now make up 20% of the student population, according to VSNU. There was a sharp increase in the number of students registering to study in the nature and behaviour and society sectors. Law, economics and technology are also popular study directions this academic year.

According to VSNU, government funding is not increasing at the same rate as the student numbers. A planned increase on the interest rate of student loans has also been scrapped, which means that higher education is losing out on €226 million (US$252 million) in the long term, the association said. “To be able to continue to offer top-level academic education and to tackle the workload at universities, substantial investments are needed instead of spending cuts,” VSNU Chairman Pieter Duisenberg said.
Full report on the NL Times site

Published at Sat, 19 Oct 2019 03:08:41 +0000

Article source: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20191018153641988