New task for university: screening thousands of students and employees

The government wants to better protect sensitive knowledge of universities and universities of applied sciences. This means that students and staff of some studies or disciplines must be screened. Are they going to steal information? Then you have to keep them out.

The security check will be carried out by Justis, a service of the Ministry of Justice and Security. But higher education itself will also have work to do, said Education Minister Eppo Bruins in a debate with the House of Representatives on Thursday.

The latter is especially true for the technical universities. “I imagine that TU Delft has more sensitive technology than the Meertens Institute,” said Bruins. At the Meertens, research is done into language and culture.

‘Ten thousand max’

The number of people to be screened is increasing. First there were a ‘few thousand’, now the minister estimates that ‘a maximum of ten thousand’ scientists and students have to be screened every year.

These are new employees or prospective master’s students who need access to sensitive knowledge for their work or study at a university, which is of military interest, for example. The minister has yet to determine what knowledge is ‘sensitive’.

Extra work

The list of ‘sensitive knowledge’ must be kept up to date by the universities themselves. They must also ensure that the right applicants and prospective students go through Justis’ screening.

This will take extra work, especially at the technical universities, Bruins warned. The House asked him whether universities will also receive extra budget, but the minister does not have the money for that.

Russians and Chinese

The fact that more screening needs to be done than was previously expected is due to an advice from the state attorney. He advised the minister not to distinguish between Europeans and non-Europeans. Bruins has taken that advice to heart. So even Dutch people who want to study sensitive technologies will soon have to be screened.

Coalition party PVV fought against this on Thursday: will the ban on discrimination mean that we will not be able to ban Chinese students? But the government can certainly make a distinction, for example on the basis of the ‘threat assessment’ of the security services. “It includes Russia and Iran, but also China,” said Bruins. Justis will soon have to pay extra attention to students or PhD candidates from those countries.

Are universities up to the task?

Are universities up to the task? Various parties in the House asked about the feasibility of the plans. The minister tried to nuance their concerns: the government wants to reduce the number of foreign students. That saves a lot of screenings, said Bruins.

The latter remains to be seen: the law with which Bruins wants to limit the influx of foreign students only applies to bachelor’s students, while the upcoming screening law only affects master’s students (in addition to employees).

No money

Universities are also concerned about the feasibility and costs of screening. “It is ridiculous that the cabinet does not provide funding for it,” says a spokesperson for the umbrella organization Universities of the Netherlands (UNL)

Will institutions soon have to process huge piles of applications, which will make application procedures take longer? UNL fears that applicants will soon more often choose a country without screening. But according to Bruins, other EU countries are also working safety measures.

The bill must be completed within a few months. Previously, the ministry expected the law to become effective in 2028, but Bruins now hopes that Justis will start the first security checks as early as mid-2027.

HOP, Olmo Linthorst

Also read: Screening of researchers by TU Delft: despite negative advice at times still welcome