Higher education minister: more courses in Dutch

Higher education minister: more courses in Dutch

Dutch as a language of education, science and science communication is relevant throughout higher education, thinks (in Dutch) higher education minister Dijkgraaf. He agrees with the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which asked parliamentary questions about this, ‘that Dutch (or if necessary multilingual) education should be the starting point in more programmes’. “In doing so, we must of course keep an eye on the fact that some courses are pre-eminently aimed at an international labour market”, he notes.

Dijkgraaf promises the Dutch Parliament that he will send a letter on the containment of international student flows, including the language of study, no later than May. That letter has already been delayed several times.

According to the universities, 53 per cent of bachelor programmes are Dutch-speaking and 29 per cent are fully English-speaking. The rest use more than one language of instruction. In master programmes, only 14 per cent are still entirely in Dutch. (HOP, BB)