The new Minister for Education, Rianne Letschert, has an extra €1.5 billion to spend, and she intends to use it to restore ‘stability and calm’. “Well, of course, you never know how long I’ll stay in the job.”
Politicians want to reform the funding of higher education, but how? The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has already identified the shortcomings of the current system.
The binding recommendation of the continuation of studies (BSA) does not work, according to the largest study ever conducted on the subject. Graduation rates are barely any higher, and fewer students are obtaining a degree. As far as the Dutch Student Union is concerned, the BSA system should be abolished immediately.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved the education budget, including the last government’s cuts for 2026. A notable change: animal testing on monkeys is suddenly permitted again.
The Dutch government is scrapping grants that enable teachers to pursue a second degree or to conduct PhD research, including at TU Delft. The Education Council considers this a shame.
Since ChatGPT was launched, AI quickly turned student life upside down. How do TU Delft students use it to their advantage? Delta spoke extensively with four major users and took to the streets to gauge more experiences.
The Netherlands must allow positive discrimination in courses with selective admission criteria, particularly if women are in the minority. This is according to the United Nations. In 2024, the AE Faculty was rebuffed when it wanted to give priority to female first-year students.
The House of Representatives wants higher professional education students to always receive a basic grant for their master’s degree, and according to outgoing minister Gouke Moes, the government should intervene in the range of education programmes on offer, as revealed in this week’s debate on the education budget.
The intake of first-year university bachelor’s students has declined again. Both international and Dutch students are staying away. Only in Leiden and Delft have the numbers increased.
