Minister criticizes abuse of international transition year
Colleges and universities use transition years to be able to recruit international students with insufficient qualifications en masse. That is not the intention, says Minister Van Engelshoven in answer to parliamentary questions after publications in the Education Journal.
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For years, Dutch colleges and universities have offered preparatory programs lasting half a year or a full year to international students. This is permitted, as long as a study program has determined in advance that the students meet almost all requirements and that they can clear up their arrears within the foreseeable future.
Hardly permissible
From a series articles Last year, the Education Magazine about 'the hunt for the international student' showed that the practice is often different. Hundreds of international students are recruited every year and are being prepared with varying degrees of success for university and college.
This practice conflicts with the duty of care of educational institutions under the Aliens Act
A study by the national committee that monitors compliance with the higher education code of conduct confirmed in June that five universities (Twente, Tilburg, Rotterdam, UvA and VU) and three universities of applied sciences (HvA, Hanze and The Hague) are working closely with three desks.
Pepper duration
In practice, it is not the institutions, but these offices that check whether the international students are admissible, writes Minister Van Engelshoven in response to questions from the CDA. The interim tests in the very expensive transition year are also administered by the agencies. Sometimes a lot of shortcomings also have to be overcome. If the preparatory year 'becomes a channel for recruiting additional international students who are not yet admissible', according to the minister, this is contrary to the spirit of the law and the code of conduct for higher education.
Residence permit
The minister is particularly critical of the University of Amsterdam and the VU University, which enroll their international students from outside Europe during the preparatory year for a program other than their first preference.
Both universities do this if there is a numerus fixus or selection procedure for the study program that the international student wants to follow. In that case, admission after the preparatory year cannot be guaranteed, but such a guarantee is a strict condition of the Immigration and Naturalization Service IND for granting a residence permit. Hence, these international students are enrolled in a related study program that does not select at the gate and where they are allowed to enter anyway.
Aliens Act
The UvA's working method 'is chafing with the duty of care that educational institutions have under the Aliens Act', writes Van Engelshoven. There is 'at least improper use of the preparatory year'.
The minister will consult with the associations for colleges and universities about the next steps. These will be discussed at the beginning of December during a general consultation with the House of Representatives on internationalization.
