Wet internationalisering in balans

Reactie

Vraag1

Non-EU/EEA international students are the least privileged group of Dutch students. There are no transportation and financial benefits for us, often no possibility to get an educational loan or scholarship due to age and country of origin restrictions, and no possibility to legally work more than 16 hours per week (unlike Dutch students, as well as EU/EEA students). At the same time, we pay several times more tuition fees than locals, while they can work full-time.

Despite these difficulties, the Netherlands still seems to be one of the most open countries, providing access to quality education not only for the rich. Even though the cost of education is much higher than for locals, it is affordable for a broader range of people than, for example, in the USA or the UK.

I am grateful to the Netherlands for this opportunity. However, the proposed bill jeopardizes the quality and openness of Dutch higher education and cannot address the stated problems, such as the housing crisis and the labor market crisis. Moreover, it looks discriminatory towards the most vulnerable student group.

To solve the stated problems, I would suggest the following steps instead of this bill:
1. Allow universities to build student housing, as is done in many other countries. In the country where I come from, universities cannot admit more students than they can accommodate. At the same time, there are also opportunities to expand the amount of housing if needed. I believe it is possible to follow the same path in the Netherlands.
2. For more students to want to stay in the country of study, the country should show its openness rather than closing itself off from them. So, Dutch language courses could be introduced in the curricula, or foreign students could be encouraged to attend such courses outside of classes (i.e., with subsidies).
3. To increase the possibility for international students to integrate into the Dutch labor market, to expand the number of available working hours for international students from 16 to at least 24 (or equalize their rights to working hours with local students). In this way, international students will have the opportunity to establish themselves earlier in the labor market. At the same time, it would help them to pay for their studies.

Vraag2

This bill is not implementable. Please, do not do this and consider alternatives (such as those I proposed or others in these commentaries).