Universities with a lot of Ukrainian students withdrawing support

When Russia invaded Ukraine last year, most higher education institutions in the Netherlands gave first-year Ukrainian students with refugee status a discount on tuition fees. They were allowed to pay the same amount as Dutch students.

Students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are required to pay several thousand euros more than Dutch students and students from the EEA. That's because the government subsidises part of their tuition fees. The now-collapsed cabinet no longer wants to finance the studies of Ukrainian refugee students on a structural basis. As a result, many institutions have suspended the discount this year.

The universities with a high number of Ukrainian students with refugee status are tightening their belts more than others. The Hague University of Applied Sciences is a notable exception.

Last week, the Ministerof Education, Robbert Dijkgraaf, sent an overview of the number of Ukrainian students per institution to the House of Representatives . According to preliminary figures, there are a total of 1,247 such students enrolled in higher education institutions across the country.

Discount
The institutions have agreed that students who enrolled last year can continue their studies at a reduced rate. They will thus pay the same amount as Dutch students. However, not all Ukrainian first-year students will benefit from the lower fees.

New government
Previously, Dijkgraaf urged institutions to continue supporting Ukrainians, even though the ministry would not provide funding anymore. “I will leave this matter to a new cabinet”, he reiterated in his response to the Green Left party (GroenLinks).