Some 14.5 thousand international students receive student grants in the Netherlands, reports DUO. This is more than before, perhaps partly due to the new basic grant.
The radio programme Nieuws en Co requested the figures from student finance provider DUO and had NSC party leader Pieter Omtzigt respond in Friday night’s broadcast (in Dutch). Omtzigt expects a sharp increase in the coming years.
In 2021, more than nine thousand international students received study financing and in 2022 there were 12 thousand. The current calendar year is not over yet, but in 2023, it will therefore be around 14.5 thousand. That is one in eight to nine international students.
Young people from other countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) can study here basically on the same terms as students from the Netherlands. They pay the low, statutory tuition fees (unlike students from outside Europe).
They are also entitled to study financing if they have a part-time job in addition to their studies. Previously, this required them to work at least 56 hours a month. After court cases, that standard was lowered to 32 hours or – if they have been working here for a while – 24 hours.
Universities and colleges warn against drastic measures hampering the arrival of foreign students. Politicians want to throw out the baby with the bathwater, they believe. (HOP, BB / Delta, BK)
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