Government improves climate for international students
Education State Secretary Mark Rutte launched a protocol yesterday providing foreign students with guarantees that the courses will meet their expectations. They will also be admitted to the Netherlands more quickly.
All the umbrella organisations for higher education (FION, HBO Raad, Paepon and VSNU) are involved in the code of conduct. Only establishments that sign the code may recruit students from outside the EU.
The participating higher education colleges (HBOs) and universities guarantee students that they will be recruited, selected and supervised in a correct manner. In addition, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) will speed up and simplify the admission to the Netherlands of students taking courses at an establishment that has signed the code.
Only the participating higher education institutes may enrol students who receive grants from the Huygens Scholarship Programme (a programme aimed at attracting outstanding students). These institutes can also take advantage of the services offered by Dutch higher education support offices abroad (NESOs).
Rutte’s ministry gave some examples that were damaging to the reputation of Dutch higher education abroad: “Asian students who were given incorrect information in their country about the level of education; foreign students taught by tutors whose command of English was unsatisfactory; and students for whom no accommodation had been arranged, although this had been promised.”
A national committee, with representatives from the education umbrella organisations, will monitor compliance with the code, which comes into operation on 1 May. The participating establishments are listed on www.internationalstudy.nl.
Source: NIS News, ANP, 26 April 2006
