Thousands of international students receive wrong message from DUO

Earlier this month, over 800 million euros were earmarked to compensate students who missed the basic grant. Between 2015 and 2023, students in the Netherlands stopped receiving a monthly grant as the benefit was replaced with a loan system. Now, the benefit has been reinstated and the students who didn't get it are entitled to an allowance. 

On Monday, the Minister of Education, Eppo Bruins, informed the House of Representatives that a total of 8,590 European students and graduates had been notified about the allowance even though they were not eligible for it. 

Tuition fees
The minister explained that some of those students were not entitled to full study financing. They were allowed to take out a loan to pay for tuition fees, provided that they met certain requirements. Others were entitled to grants for part of their studies, not the whole time. So, they are eligible for the allowance but they will be paid less than DUO told them it would.

Fixing the problem
The minister announced that DUO will rectify the mistake shortly. The students and graduates who have been wrongly notified will receive a letter informing them about the mistake. Those whose debt has been reduced in the DUO system will see the number go back up in a few weeks.

"Mistakes can never be ruled out when it comes to complex implementation processes involving many students," writes the minister in his letter to the House of Representatives. "However, we should always strive to improve."

Next step
Bruins also announced DUO's next step. The agency will give 500 million euros to 240,500 former students without study debt or whose study debt is smaller than the allowance. These people will get some or all of the money directly in their bank accounts.

The first batch of students under the loan system will also receive a study voucher of almost 2,100 euros. "That's a different target group," writes the minister, "so there is no mistake in this case."