Half tuition fees for sophomores of all teacher training courses

Tekst Hoger Onderwijspersbureau - 7 december 2017 - Minder dan een minuut om te lezen

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The coalition parties had already hinted it and the minister has just confirmed it in the Lower House: all future teachers will receive a discount on their tuition fees in the second year.

The tuition fee is approximately two thousand euros per year. In their first academic year, students will only have to pay half of that from September 2018, according to the plans of the new cabinet.

To expand

The discount would only apply to PABO students in their second year, the four government parties had agreed. For example, they wanted to persuade more students to become primary school teachers.

But many teachers are also needed elsewhere. That is why Van Engelshoven is now extending this measure to other teacher training courses. Future teachers are therefore a thousand euros cheaper than their fellow students.

Cigar

Halving the tuition fees is intended to make education more accessible. At the same time, the cabinet is increasing the interest on student loans, so that students actually pay for them themselves. It is a cigar from its own box, according to student organizations.

SP Member of Parliament Frank Futselaar wanted to know what the minister thought about this. Doesn't that higher interest mainly affect students from poorer families who are forced to borrow a lot, while the discount on tuition fees also helps richer students who do not need it at all?

Van Engelshoven did not answer that. She only explained that former students repay according to their ability to pay: if they do not earn enough, they do not have to pay off. So they don't have to worry about their loan.

Incidentally, the turning point is a student debt of 16.500 euros. From that amount, students pay more than a thousand euros extra in interest on their student debt. Those who borrow more pay the discount for wealthier fellow students.