Dutch universities and hbo colleges need substantial investment in order to strengthen their position in the global educational market, according to a new report on the future of higher education in the Netherlands.

The report was commissioned by former education minister Ronald Plasterk to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Dutch system and make recommendations to ensure its survival.
‘The ambitions for the future cannot be realised in the context of cuts,’ the commission said. ‘It is now time… to make real work of the ambition to become one of the strongest knowledge economies in the world.’
Drop out rate
The commission is highly critical of some aspects of the current situation. The drop-out rate is too high, there are too few challenges for the cleverest students and the system is too inflexible to meet the changing demands of students and employers, the report said.
Some 25% of university students and 30% of hbo college students drop out before the end of their first year.
To keep the best Dutch students and attract top talent from abroad, universities and colleges should specialise and join forces. It is a waste of investment to allow every university to offer degrees in economics and law, the report said.
Universities should also be allowed to select students on the basis of exam results and interviews, the report said. At the moment all students who pass their VWO school leaving exams automatically qualify for a university place although there are lotteries for the most popular subjects .