Netherlands sees third year of falling international enrolments

The data, released this week by Universities of The Netherlands (UNL), revealed international bachelor’s enrolments were down by 3.6% this year, alongside domestic numbers falling by 3.3%. 

“The decline is no longer a future scenario, but a reality,” said UNL chair Caspar van den Berg, adding that the absence of a talent strategy under the previous government was undermining innovation across science, society and the economy. 

He welcomed the new coalition government’s plan for a talent strategy as “an important starting point”, while forecasts from the education department (OCW) anticipate overall student numbers to continue to fall by almost 10% over the next decade. 

Other than shortage fields of engineering and healthcare, nearly all subject areas experienced a decline in international bachelor enrolments, the data revealed. 

The downward trend was most pronounced among European students – down 4.4% – as compared to a modest 1.3% drop in non-European international students. 

The decline is no longer a future scenario, but a reality Caspar van den Berg, UNL

It follows several turbulent years for Dutch higher education, which saw roughly €1.2 billion in funding cuts under the previous far-right government, alongside measures to curb English-taught degrees in a bid to bring down international enrolments.  

But stakeholders have said recent policy changes could mark a “turning point” for the sector, with the new coalition announcing it will halt the scrapping of English-taught programs and invest €1.5bn in education and science.  

Meanwhile, commenting on the recent data, van den Berg said the new talent strategy, combined with efforts of Dutch universities, “should ensure we have enough talent for science, innovation and the labour market”. 

Speaking to The PIE News previously, Studyportals CEO Edwin Van Rest raised issues of talent shortages and demographic pressures in the Netherlands – confirmed by falling domestic enrolments revealed in the data.  

“International education is and will remain a very effective link to resolve this, stronger than the ebbs and flows of politics,” he said, adding that they were not only valuable assets to society and a country’s soft power, but also its competitiveness.  

While many Dutch universities opposed the government’s heavy-handed efforts to reduce international enrolments, they have taken it upon themselves to implement self-regulatory measures ensuring internationalisation is sustainable.  

For instance, outside of shortage sectors, institutions are no longer recruiting abroad, and some universities are warning prospective students about student housing shortages in their cities, said UNL, with these efforts set to continue.  

And yet, the Netherlands remains a prominent destination for international education, offering the third highest number of English-taught programs in Europe and boasting a near-50% retainment rate of students staying to work in the country after graduation, according to Studyportals. 

Meanwhile, policy volatility across the ‘big four’ continues to drive shifting global student flows, with Studyportals data seeing a 17.5% rise in student interest in Europe while the appeal of traditional destinations has dipped by 25% over the past five years.  

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