Uncertainty remains about minister’s commitment to the regions

Last week, education minister Bruins published a letter to the House of Representatives outlining how he plans to address the call to protect regions like Limburg from measures aimed at reducing the number of international students. Unfortunately, many questions remain unanswered. While the minister acknowledges the unique characteristics of certain regions, he also insists that every programme, including those at UM, must pass a language test. This does little to clarify the situation.
 

What exactly is going on?

The minister is preparing the Internationalisation in Balance Act, which aims to better regulate the influx of international students at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences. A key measure of the law is to reduce the number and scope of English-taught programmes. Educational institutions, businesses, and regional governments, including those in Limburg, have been advocating for a tailored approach. They argue that factors such as the labour market (ageing regions need more international talent), the type of education (internationally oriented programmes benefit from English-taught education), and the geographical position of institutions (UM’s surrounding region is highly international and multilingual) should be considered. The House of Representatives has supported this plea.
 

Uncertainty remains

So, how will the minister take these concerns into account? We still don’t know, not even after his latest letter. The letter suggests some flexibility for English-taught programmes in border and shrinking regions, including UM. However, it also proposes that all existing and new programmes, regardless of location, must pass a foreign language education assessment. This raises concerns about which programmes will be allowed to continue in English. Additionally, UM is deeply worried about the administrative burden this proposal would create.
 

Declining international enrolment

The preparation of the Internationalisation in Balance Act has already taken over two years. Meanwhile, one might wonder whether the law will still address a relevant issue by the time it is enacted. This week, Dutch universities released their final enrolment figures for this academic year, showing a 6% decrease in international bachelor’s enrolment nationwide. At UM, the drop is even steeper at 13%.

If this trend continues, the problem may reverse entirely. As we have been emphasising for over a year: international talent is not a problem, it is a solution for both the region and the Netherlands.