The Netherlands moves forward with plans to limit English at universities

The Dutch government is moving ahead with a proposal to curb the use of English at universities, as it seeks to stem the influx of international students in the Netherlands.

“I want to make the Dutch language the standard again,” Education Minister Eppo Bruins said in a letter to parliament on Tuesday. “The last couple of years we have seen the amount of international students rise,” he said, also citing a shortage of student housing and full lecture halls.

The bill aims to scale back the number of bachelor degree programs taught in English to a third of all courses. A similar proposal was initiated by the previous Dutch government, which prompted concerns about a possible shrinking of international talent, particularly in the technology sector.


Nearly 123,000 foreign students attended a higher study program in the country, accounting for 15% of all university students, the Dutch statics agency said in a report last year. Over three-quarters of those students came from other European countries, the CBS said.

While educational migration is important for the economy, “the size of this migration needs to be in proportion to what the Netherlands can bear,” Bruins said.

The Netherlands’ new cabinet, which was sworn in this July, seeks to implement the country’s strictest ever anti-migration policies.