Government's New Agenda for HE "Unfeasible"
Despite being a hefty 134 pages long, the Dutch government’s new Strategic Agenda for Higher Education has drawn criticism for its lack of concrete plans and time frames for its execution.
The Dutch Senate has aired reservations about legislation proposed to give the Dutch government a better grip on the number of international students coming to the Netherlands – the senate fears it might damage the country's reputation abroad. In any case, the question about accessibility should lie with institutions of higher education, not legislators, it was said in a recent debate about the Language and Accessibility Bill.
A few days ago, the majority of parties in the Dutch House of Representatives voted in favour of a motion asking the government to scrap the condition that students obtain a minimum number of European Credits during their first year or risk being kicked out of their programme. Should it be passed, will international students also be exempted from this condition which is currently attached to their study visa?
Despite being a hefty 134 pages long, the Dutch government’s new Strategic Agenda for Higher Education has drawn criticism for its lack of concrete plans and time frames for its execution.