Dutch government walks back controversial measures to constrain English-taught degrees
- The Netherlands had intended to introduce, in legislation, a “Test for Foreign Language” that would have challenged the provision of English-taught degree programmes in Dutch universities
- That test will now no longer be applied to existing degree programmes
- It will, however, still apply for any new programme proposals
In a 3 July 2025 letter to the Dutch parliament, Education Minister Eppo Bruins explained that that would have restricted the delivery of English-taught degrees in the Netherlands.
The minister advises that the government will now withdraw a proposed requirement for the Toets Anderstalig Onderwijs (TAO, or in English, "Test for Foreign Language"). The test would have effectively required Dutch universities to demonstrate, via a formal process, that teaching a degree in a foreign language was both necessary and of added value.
It was expected that the TAO would have particularly put pressure on the widespread provision of English-taught degrees in Dutch higher education. In October 2024, Minister Bruins was actively pressing Dutch universities to reduce their international enrolments – at the time, foreign students accounted for roughly 20% of the total enrolment in Dutch undergraduate programmes, with many opting for English-taught degrees.
The TAO requirement, however, proved to be quite controversial, both within the higher education system, and among employers and local governments. Caspar van den Berg, president of the peak body Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) had previously said that the TAO would lead to a “massacre of programmes” within the Dutch system. UNL reported separately at the time that, "70% of Bachelor's programmes are taught in Dutch, and 18% of those degree programmes also have an English version. The total percentage of English-language Bachelor's programmes is 30%."
Responding to those concerns around the TAO, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion to oppose the Test for Foreign Language requirement on 27 May. The TAO was part of pending legislation – Wet Internationalisering in Balans (the Internationalisation in Balance Act) – that is still working its way through Parliament, and that will now go back to the Council of State for further review and revision.
Minister Bruins sets out in his July letter that the TAO will now no longer be required for existing foreign language degree programmes in the country, but will apply only to any new degree proposals. The expectation now is that the legislation will not come back to Parliament until later in the fall.
The Minister's guidance explains that in order to satisfy the TAO requirements, any new degree offerings must meet one of the following conditions: they relate to a sector with established labour shortages; they are only available in one location; they are taught in a region with a declining population; or they are “inherently international”.
For their part, Dutch universities had responded to political and public concern around the growing numbers of international students in the country by announcing a self-regulation plan in February 2024. The plan establishes a cap on foreign enrolments, limits the introduction of new English-taught degrees, and sets out initiatives to increase the retention of foreign graduates in the Netherlands and to expand student housing.
Earlier this year, Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), reported that its 14 member universities recorded a 6% year-over-year decline in international undergraduate students in 2024/25. The 17,410 students enrolled during that year was the lowest number since the pandemic.
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