Slightly more students opt for PABO this year
The number of first-year students at universities of applied sciences has fallen for the second consecutive year, according to the final counts released today. Nursing education has been hit hardest. They did not see 7.400 students appear at the start, but only 6.100. Slightly more students did opt for a teacher training course.
Picture: Type tank
The contraction of all universities of applied sciences is 5,4 percent this time.
The universities of applied sciences speculate that it is partly related to the return of the basic grant in September: some young people may be waiting for that. Others may want to travel or work for a year after their final exams. Fewer young people took a gap year during the corona crisis.
Nursing is one of the largest HBO studies, and it is shrinking rapidly: the programs attracted almost 18 percent fewer first-year students. But major programs such as social work (-10 percent), commercial economics and creative business (both -12 percent) also have far fewer first-year students than last year.
Pabo
Despite this shrinkage, primary school teacher training programs received an additional 146 students. Minister Dijkgraaf draws attention to this in his response to the figures. “I am particularly pleased with the growth in the number of new PABO students,” he says. “Hopefully that continues. Society desperately needs those teachers.”
I am particularly pleased with the growth in the number of new PABO students
Among the large universities of applied sciences, especially Fontys (-10,5 percent), Saxion (-9,2), Leiden (-8 percent), Inholland (-7,3) and Hanze University of Applied Sciences (-6,7) have experienced a significant decrease in process freshmen.
The total number of enrollments in higher professional education, including senior students, fell by 3 percent. Nearly 478 thousand HBO students were enrolled in October, compared to over 492 thousand in the record year 2021/22.
Additional students
The universities of applied sciences are preparing themselves for the coming years. In order to attract extra students, they are focusing on 'lifelong learning', among other things. The two-year associate degree programs, for example, have relatively few students, but they continue to grow: this year by 9,4 percent to a number of 10.539 first-year students.
They also hope to attract more VWO students, who now almost automatically go to university
seem to choose. It's already working a bit. The number of pre-university education students increased by 6,5 percent this year to over eight thousand. But it is not much, compared to the 43 havists and 33 mbo students who went to higher professional education this year.
Shrinkage
All in all, the universities of applied sciences are therefore attracting fewer first-year students than before the corona years and this trend is expected to continue. Minister Dijkgraaf is currently working on an 'exploration of the future', in which the decline in higher vocational education is one of the major subjects.
All in all, the universities of applied sciences are therefore attracting fewer first-year students than before the corona years
Five universities of applied sciences already received money this year to compensate for the shrinkage of their student numbers. More money will come from next year.
A committee of the universities of applied sciences themselves recommended making higher vocational education more attractive for pre-university education students. The courses should, as it were, be at 'eye level'. This would also require more research funding.
It is possible that Minister Dijkgraaf also thinks in that direction, although he is holding his cards to his chest. If that is the case, Dutch higher education will be on the eve of a fundamental system change.
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