Dutch universities have slammed one of the frontrunners in next week’s general election for suggesting the Netherlands has too many international students taking courses in English, describing his proposals as “ridiculous” and representing a “closing of the Dutch mind”.
Pieter Omtzigt, a popular MP whose New Social Contract (NSC) party is polling strongly in the run-up to the general election on 22 November, told international journalists the country could face a labour shortage within five years as so many students at Dutch universities gained their qualifications in English then went back home. His party proposes capping annual migration to the Netherlands at 50,000, a figure that would include students.
Now the association of universities of the Netherlands (UNL) has hit back, saying the Dutch economy needs high-level English speakers and that it is “ridiculous” to hark back to the days of doing everything in Dutch.
The UNL interim chairman, Jouke de Vries, said: “It is a turning point in the discussion. What I see is what I call the closing of the Dutch mind. We had a period of globalisation but nowadays there are new political parties on the block with a different opinion about these kind of things, like the NSC.
“It’s a development all over the world that nation states are becoming more important, borders are becoming more important. But it is ridiculous in my opinion to say we need to do everything in Dutch. Dutch students learn a lot from international students … a lot of our staff members come from abroad … and our economy in the Netherlands is very open. So we need people who can talk and write English at the highest level.”
Concerns about internationalisation in education have risen in this small, export-driven, country after a flood of English-language degree courses provoked a tripling in international students between 2005 and last year. This year, according to the UNL, 26% of the country’s 340,000 students are international.
This, say critics, has put extra pressure on a tough housing market. A new education bill already proposes making most bachelor’s degrees “Dutch first” and capping internationals.
However, the education minister, Robbert Dijkgraaf, of the liberal D66 party, has urged that whichever party leads the next government should avoid “taking an axe” to the system.
Dijkgraaf, said: “I sometimes hear caricatures saying just do everything in Dutch and go back to the system 50 years ago. And that really is a step backwards. Unlimited growth is detrimental for our system but it’s like fine surgery – taking an axe to it is not the way to address it.”
Omtzigt, speaking last week in Amersfoort, told international journalists: “Forty percent of the new first-year students at Dutch universities come from abroad and then go back because we teach in English. And this is one way of getting a labour shortage in five to 10 years in crucial sectors because you’ve not actually educated your own population.”
Omtzigt’s NSC party was created just three months ago but it is now polling neck and neck with the People’s party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the party of the outgoing prime minister, Mark Rutte.
But experts are urging the country not to follow the example of Denmark, which capped student numbers on English-language courses two years ago but which has now suggested opening university spaces again to those from abroad due to expensive labour shortages.
“The current ideas to reduce the number of international students and staff give the wrong signal and will scare international top talent away at a time in which our economy and society as a whole are in desperate need of highly skilled labour forces,” said Robert-Jan Smits, president of the executive board of Eindhoven University of Technology. “We should not make the same mistake as Denmark.”
The Dutch business organisation VNO-NCW is also worried about reducing international students and cutting back tax perks for people filling jobs where local talent is scarce. “We really need foreign students, for example in technical fields … for hi-tech companies from ASML to new scale-ups,” a spokesperson said.
Ken Giller, an emeritus professor of plant production systems, at Wageningen University & Research, said that specialist institutions like his operated wholly in an international context. “The global footprint of Dutch education is massive. The Netherlands is a tiny country but in things like international education it bats way above its weight.”
Dijkgraaf warned the next Dutch government not to lose a sense of nuance. “Unlimited growth is clearly not sustainable,” he said. “But you have to find this fine balance in keeping our system accessible also for Dutch students and making sure you are fulfilling the demands of the labour market. We have been driving in a car with the accelerator and not with a brake – particularly, not with a steering wheel.”