Tuition fee increases to €2,600
Starting in September 2025, students in higher education will pay €2,600 in tuition. That is almost €300 more than now and €70 more than next academic year.
Tuition rises with inflation. Groceries, clothing, and café visits have become more expensive, therefore tuition - with some delay – is also going up.
This academic year, students are paying €2,314. Next academic year it will be €2,530 because of the explosive inflation caused by the war in Ukraine. Energy prices in particular have skyrocketed.
CBS, the Netherlands Statistics Office, has now announced the April inflation rate, making it possible to calculate tuition for the coming academic year. The ministry uses the annual average of the months of May through April for this purpose.
2.8 percent
During that period, inflation was 2.8 percent. To be precise, tuition would come out at €2,601. It could still change somewhat, as the figures for March and April are not yet final.
Up until 2022, the increase was based on inflation from a single month, April. Tuition increases tended to be under €100, usually between €22 and €71. But in April 2022, prices rose sharply and politicians were shocked that tuition would increase by more than €200.
Minister Dijkgraaf adjusted the regulation. From then on, the ministry would base tuition increases on inflation over an entire year, creating fewer peaks and troughs. Ultimately, tuition for 2023/2024 increased by €105.
In 2023, inflation had still not subsided. As a result, the following September, tuition still jumped by more than €200. The following year - which can now be calculated - tuition will hit €2,600.
Reduced by half
In addition, next academic year the reduction in tuition fees by 50% for first-year students (and second-year teacher training students) will disappear. This is related to the reinstatement of the basic scholarship.
This is all related to the standard tuition for students who have not yet completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree. The government no longer finances secondary studies, so those students must pay the high institutional rate. However, there are exceptions for retraining to healthcare or teaching.
