Policy shifts mark “turning point” for Dutch higher education

The policy announcements came on January 30 and have been welcomed with cautious optimism by the sector after previous administrations moved to restrict international student flows and cut funding for education and science.  

UNL, the leading association of Dutch research universities, said the coalition’s plans were “promising”, hailing its recognition of the importance of investing in education and maintaining the Netherlands’ international outlook.  

“We hope this will be a turning point,” UNL spokesperson Ruben Puylaert told The PIE, though he said the damage caused by the previous government’s budget cuts “cannot simply be undone within a year”. 

He emphasised the need for stable and predictable research funding, adding it was “crucial to stay the course and continue moving towards the 3% R&D target”.  

The change of tack from the government will see €1.5bn invested in education and science, reversing cuts of roughly €1.2bn under Geert Wilders’ far-right party, which prompted widespread protests among students and faculty.  

Wilders’ government also sought to restrict the number of international students in the Netherlands by reducing the number of English-taught programs and promoting Dutch as the language of instruction.  

Alongside other restrictions, such measures saw international enrolments at Dutch universities fall for three consecutive years, with 2024/25 seeing a decline of 5%, according to Studyportals, as forecasters warned of a projected €5bn hit to the economy.  

For Studyportals CEO Edwin van Rest, the change in direction acts as an important signal for other study destinations, “showing that populist and anti-immigration narratives (at least for high-skilled talent) can be overcome”.  

He highlighted a global capacity imbalance with an excess of educational and job opportunities in the developed world, and young people being born in other areas, adding that international education was the most effective link to resolve this – “stronger than the ebbs and flows of politics”. 

International education … is stronger than the ebbs and flows of politics

Edwin van Rest, Studyportals

Under the new coalition – led by the liberal D66 party alongside the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) – a new talent strategy will be implemented to guarantee the continued attraction and retainment of international talent.  

What’s more, the compulsory Foreign Language Education Test will be abolished and current foreign-language degree programs maintained, meaning psychology, economics and business courses must no longer be converted into Dutch. 

While opposing previous governments’ heavy-handed restrictions, many Dutch universities implemented self-regulatory measures in recent years to maintain sustainable international student levels.  

“Universities continue to take responsibility for balanced internationalisation, with a targeted intake approach and ongoing focus on language skills and student retention rate,” said UNL president Caspar van de Berg in a statement.  

“In that light, we are glad that the need to change the language of instruction ceases to apply under this coalition agreement,” he added.  

According to UNL, the investment in education and the reprioritisation of international students mark crucial steps for the Netherlands to remain an innovative knowledge economy and for its strategic autonomy. 

“The Netherlands, like almost all developed economies, has a demographic problem and a lot of shortages in high-skilled talent,” said van Rest: “International students are great contributors to our society and soft power around the world, but also have a huge contribution to our competitiveness.”  

As per Studyportals data, just under 50% of international graduates stay to work in the Netherlands, with the country offering the third most English-taught programs in Europe.  

What’s more, the government’s change of tack comes at a time of shifting international student flows, with interest in European study up by 17.5% in the last five years, compared to demand for traditional destinations which has fallen by 25%, according to Studyportals.

Amid visa restrictions and policy uncertainty across the ‘big four’ global destinations, 68% of global universities in a recent survey said government policies hurt international recruitment in 2025, up from 51% in 2024. In the US, that number jumped to 85%.