Dutch Senate slams anti-Englishification bill
The Dutch Senate has questioned the law intended to slow down the Englishification of higher education. The law was prompted by the growing criticism of internationalisation and Englishification, particularly in higher academic education. What are all those foreign students doing here, critics asked. Do they use their talents and stay in the Netherlands, or do they go back home after graduating? And do students still learn Dutch at an academic level.
The regulation proposed by Minister of Education Van Engelshoven, which should come into force on 1 September, raised many more questions in the Senate. The Minister will answer the questions in a few weeks, but in the meantime, the Cabinet has fallen. If this bill is declared ‘controversial’, it will be put on hold until there is a new Cabinet. This could mean that the bill is delayed by at least a year. It may even be withdrawn, and the next minister will have to come up with a proposal of his/her own. (HOP, Bas Belleman)
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