Retaining talent
Dutch coalition parties VVD, NSC and BBB want to keep international students here
Photo: Pixabay
The previous cabinet fell due to disagreements about migration. To some parties, student migration was also an issue. The current coalition, led by PVV, wants to limit the number of foreign students in the Netherlands, but something seems to be shifting. Their fight against the internationalisation of Dutch higher education has been criticised by shrinking regions and large companies, so much so that part of the cuts to the higher education budget has been softened following negotiations with a few opposition parties. Certain regions will be subjected to a modified policy.
Left-wing party vote passed a motion last week in which the House of Representatives asks the cabinet "to make a plan of action on retaining international students and talent in the Netherlands".
Retention, not arrival
This motion was supported by a large majority (101 votes in favour), thanks in part to coalition parties VVD, NSC and BBB. Social Affairs Minister Eddy van Hijum (NSC) was one of the politicians who backed it. "This is about retaining international students, not attracting new ones," he seemed to suggest.
The leader of his party, Pieter Omtzigt, said last December in a parliamentary debate on demographics that 20,000 basic scholarships are being given to students from EU countries. "If you let them all go abroad again, we do not think you are spending public money wisely," he said.
The Volt motion states that the Netherlands is not a leader in "attracting and retaining knowledge migrants". The government should therefore look at how to attract talent and encourage those international students to stay. That part of the motion did not deter VVD, NSC and BBB.
Aside from PVV, the Socialist Party also voted against the motion. Party leader Jimmy Dijk came up with a motion of his own, stating: "The earning models of labour, knowledge, and study migration lead to exploitation here and knowledge loss and social disruption for the countries of origin." However, his motion received wasn't supported by any other party.