Student cuts not feasible so soon, officials warn

It is “unfeasible” to introduce the long-study fine for slower students by September 2026, officials say in a “quick scan” of the coalition agreement published Friday afternoon.
 
The PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB want to form a coalition and have reached an outline agreement. It foresees hefty cuts in education and research, including a long-study fine of €3,000 for students who take more than one additional year for their bachelor’s or master’s degree.
 
Long-study fine
The long-study fine requires a change in the law and means that the student finance company DUO has to adjust its systems. This will all take time, so the savings will be pushed back a year in any case, officials estimate. This leaves a gap of €285 million.
 
That is, if the measure saves that much in the first place. The threat of a fine motivates students to graduate earlier. They would then not pay the fine, but graduating on time also saves the government money. Furthermore, the parties have not yet included implementation costs in their calculations.
 
But the savings may still be achieved, officials think, because other students who are not among the long-time students are expected to graduate even faster, making higher education cheaper.
 
An additional problem is that the effects are difficult to estimate, whereas educational institutions receive their funding partly based on estimates. It is a bit technical, but there is a danger that they will soon be cut twice. To avoid this, special arrangements should be made with the Ministry of Finance.
 
Foreign students
The upcoming cabinet also wants to cut €293 million by admitting fewer international students. That will be complicated, officials believe. “Steering the intake of EEA students is not allowed under European law.”
 
The cabinet wants to solve that by allowing a numerus fixus on foreign-language pathways. Dutch students would retain access through the Dutch-language pathway. Officials apparently doubt whether this will hold up in court.
 
“The language measures in the bill may affect the intake,” they note, “but this is again uncertain/difficult to predict.”
 
Regarding internationalization, the coalition wants to make “administrative agreements” with universities and colleges, but will they really do their best? According to officials, it will be difficult, “since colleges and universities receive no direct benefit from this.”
 
An explanation is not provided, but educational institutions receive money for every student they bring in. Besides, they probably have a different view than the cabinet on the usefulness and necessity of internationalization.
 
If they do succeed, how soon would the savings be achieved? The four new coalition parties see revenue as early as 2026, but the Ministries of Education and Finance do not expect the effect until later.
 
Student housing
For that matter, interior officials see opportunities in limiting the international influx. They note that that influx has “tripled” in 15 years and “contributes significantly to the current shortage of student housing.”
 
They therefore hope that the coalition partners will involve municipalities when they start making administrative agreements with colleges and universities. Municipalities are often responsible for housing foreign students, but officials would like to shift that responsibility more to educational institutions.
 
OV card
Another measure that will probably move up a year: Dutch students will soon no longer receive reimbursement for their OV student card for public transportation when they study abroad. (The idea until now was that since students cannot use their student OV card abroad, they should get money instead.) Given the latest estimates, officials say this will not generate €30 million a year, just €24 million.
 
Sector plans
Officials foresee fewer problems with implementing the cuts to sector plans (€215 million a year) At least it does not require new legislation, only an amendment to an administrative agreement.
 
And beyond that...
It could get worse. “In addition, the new budget rules and ambitious plans for savings (e.g., on EU remittances) mean additional risks for the OCW budget,” officials note. But there is no clear direction on that yet.