Education minister Eppo Bruins has promised to compensate students who fell victim to education agency DUO’s overzealous anti-fraud campaign. This is good news, but what about the ‘reverse burden of proof’? An analysis by the Higher Education Press Bureau that helped uncover the failing fraud hunt.
The government is setting aside 61 million euros to compensate all current and former students who were fined by DUO and had to pay back their basic student grant. Around 10,000 people will receive restitution.
The long-term study penalty may be withdrawn and replaced with another cutback. According to RTL Nieuws, Minister Eppo Bruins is discussing this with his colleagues in the government. One would be to increase tuition fees for all students, another to raise fees only for internationals.
After Leiden University, Utrecht University is now also planning to overhaul its Faculty of Humanities. Six Bachelor’s programmes, including German and French, will have to close up shop in 2030. Critics say the board has demonstrated a lack of transparency.
Dutch students, higher education administrators, and politicians will read out over 25,000 ‘objections’ to the long study penalty in an attempt to reach the governing parties (and voters). On the morning of Tuesday 5 November a read-aloud marathon against the long study penalty will commence outside the House of Representatives. Students and university leaders will
To offset some of the major budget cuts they face, higher education institutions should focus more on defence research. This is according to Jos Benschop, of the AWTI advisory council.
A sufficient budget and a clear editorial statute are important for an independent university magazine. But good chemistry between the board and editorial team also works wonders, the book ‘De stem van de universiteit’ (The voice of the university) shows.
From 2026, Minister Bruins will reduce funding for scientific research at NWO by 8 million euros. This amount will increase to a structural cut of 21.9 million euros starting in 2029. This reduction is on top of cuts that were previously announced. By allocating less money to NWO, the minister aims to restore the 'structural
Research by ResearchNed shows that ‘vulnerable students’ are less frequently involved in extracurricular activities such as a board year or student participation. The long-term study penalty will only increase this gap, warns the student organisation ISO. Financial concerns (in Dutch) are a significant reason for ‘vulnerable students’, such as those from non-Western backgrounds or students
The Schoof Government is not going to give shared student rooms a rent allowance. Housing Minister Mona Keijzer says that it is too expensive and difficult to implement. For years, voices have been calling for students in shared housing to also receive a rent allowance. Their high monthly costs would then go down and student
