Revised internationalisation act to the Council of State

For years, politicians have been debating how to reduce the international influx into colleges and universities in particular. Various ministers have submitted bills, but so far none of them have crossed the finish line.

Now, Education Minister Gouke Moes is making a new attempt to take the Internationalisation in Balance Bill (WIB) a step further. He is sending the proposal to the Council of State for advice.

Moes is the successor to Eppo Bruins, who in turn inherited the bill from Robbert Dijkgraaf. Despite the fall of the cabinet, Moes has been given permission by the House of Representatives to continue working on it.

Relaxing the language test

Last year, Eppo Bruins had to promise the House of Representatives that he would relax the language test announced in the bill. This language test would have forced English-language programs to switch to Dutch if they did not have a good reason for using English.

The relaxation means that the test will not apply to existing programs. New programs, however, will have to undergo the language test. They will need to demonstrate to the “efficiency” committee that there is a need for a new non-Dutch-language program.

Third time

This is actually the third time that such a bill has been submitted to the Council of State. In 2019, the council found that Ingrid van Engelshoven’s first plan did not clearly address the problem it was intended to solve. The council found Dijkgraaf’s second proposal too strict in some respects, especially for existing programs.

Last year, the House of Representatives demanded a relaxation of the language test for several reasons. The growth in the number of international students was less than expected, and especially outside the Randstad, educational institutions and employers expressed concerns about the proposed policy and labour market shortages.

No longer actively recruiting

Universities had previously promised Dijkgraaf that they would no longer actively recruit international students. As a result, the planned cutbacks related to internationals under the Schoof cabinet were more or less automatically achieved.

The Council of State usually takes about two months to reach a decision. In principle, the bill will then go to the House of Representatives.

HOP, Olmo Linthorst