The government’s plan to stop paying grants to students who take too long to complete their degrees and to make them pay higher fees will affect top athletes, says the Dutch Olympics committee.

The organisation says all students who combine their studies with taking part in top-level sports take longer to finish their degrees.
‘If you want athletes to compete at the highest international levels, you cannot fine them because they are studying,’ Jeroen Straathof, chairman of the NOC*NSF’s athletics committee told RTL news.
The NRC says it is unlikely an exception will be made for athletes. ‘The government has already said there will be no exceptions for students who spend a year running student bodies or people with a serious illness,’ the paper points out.