The Delft city council adopted two motions on pick your housemate practices on Thursday evening, 5 March. The vote followed a forty five minute debate. “The horror stories and worst case scenarios aren’t really grounded in fact,” said councillor Simon de Rijk, one of the few opponents of the motions.
For a hefty fee, Tilburg-based company MyStudentFinance ‘assists’ international students in applying for student finance. Students claim that the company is misleading because, in their opinion, it is not sufficiently transparent about its costs and working methods. However, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service states that this is not a criminal offence.
A modular student housing complex containing eight hundred studios may be relocated from Amsterdam’s Zuidas district to the TU Delft campus.
With the municipal elections approaching, political parties met on Thursday evening with the VeRa, DUWO director Jelle van Kempen and students to discuss the new pick‑your‑housemate policy DUWO is developing. Right next to the town hall, a large group of Delft students demonstrated against the proposed changes.
Dutch students continued to live with their parents for longer after the basic grant was abolished. After five years of study, 33 percent still lived at home, and with the introduction of the loan system, that figure rose to 42 percent. The abolition of the system has not improved the situation so far.
The promise made by the new coalition parties to cap interest rates on student loans at 2.5 percent feels like a financial stranglehold in practice, says the National Chamber of Associations.
The number of young people committing suicide has increased over the past ten years, according to 113 Suicide Prevention. Many students also struggle with mental health issues. “There is a lot that can be done within education to support students,” says researcher Jolien Dopmeijer. “It is important that educational institutions create an environment where you can be yourself.”
The disagreement over DUWO’s vote-in housing policy has now reached national politics. Students and associations are clashing with the student housing provider over control and equal access, and political party VVD has involved the minister. What does he say, and what led up to this? Here are the key questions and answers.
Stress, pressure to perform, financial worries… Young people’s wellbeing is under scrutiny, and education is offering more and more care and guidance. But don’t forget the power of education itself, says the Education Council.
