We need foreign students, Demographic Commission believes
Migration has all kinds of advantages and disadvantages, says a new report on the Netherlands in the year 2050. But foreign students and knowledge migrants are not the problem.
Moderate population growth up to about 20 million residents could strengthen the Netherlands. This was the message of the State Commission on Demographic Developments 2050, which presented its report on Monday.
The commission was established in late 2022 before the cabinet collapsed. Since then, the PVV has become the largest party in the House of Representatives and the NSC has a key position in forming a new government. These election winners want to curb migration.
In doing so, they also view student migration with skepticism. Too many foreign students are coming to the Netherlands, they believe. They are considering making bachelor programs Dutch-speaking again with a possible exception for technical universities.
Benefits
But there are no financial arguments for this, according to the committee. “Student migrants bring more benefits than costs to the national budget,” the report states. This applies to both college and university students from inside and outside Europe. Even if you include the costs for social security, health care, and general services, the balance remains positive. After all, some of the students continue to work here and highly educated people pay more taxes.
However, the increasing internationalization of higher education does put pressure on solidarity among students from within and outside the Netherlands, the report states. International students take up study places and compete for scarce housing in college towns. The committee also points to study places on campus and student health care. “This raises questions about how this affects the opportunities for Dutch residents to use these facilities.”
Equality of opportunity is an important issue for education in any case, if only because of the growing shortage of teachers. There is a risk that wealthy families will be more likely to purchase their own education, further exacerbating these disparities. “Children's opportunities are not determined solely by their individual talent and effort,” the committee notes.
Social and robust
The commission offers no immediate solutions. Above all, the government should make “social and robust choices,” is the message. To promote social cohesion, the government should monitor the gap between the highly educated and the rest of the Netherlands. Equal access to services such as healthcare and education is key to “social solidarity,” the committee believes. For instance, the gap between young and old in the housing market also deserves attention.
