Nibud: students living in rented accommodation 113 euros poorer per month

For the first time in years, Nibud has calculated students' purchasing power. It usually only does so for households. This goes to show how much students are losing. 

In 2023-24, the loan system was scrapped and the basic student grant was not only reinstated but also temporarily raised by 164 euros a month for students not living with their parents. The temporary measure aimed to counter the effects of inflation on students' wallets. This academic year, however, the measure was dropped, so the grant for students living in rented accommodation amounts to 302.39 per month. 

The supplementary grant for lower-income students, the healthcare allowance and wages for part-time jobs will all increase slightly, but that will not outweigh the disappearance of the inflation compensation.

Scandalous
The National Student Union (LSVb) finds this “scandalous and unacceptable”, while the National Student Association (ISO) warns that a new generation of "unlucky people" is threatening to emerge ("unlucky generation" is what the Dutch call the students from 2015 to 2023, who didn't get the basic student grant, Ed.). “They should abolish the fine for students who need more than one year longer to graduate and increase the basic grant so that students can study without financial worries”.