Government scraps grants for masters degree students

As expected, the government is pressing ahead with plans to scrap grants for students starting a masters’ degree from the next academic year.

The decision means students living away from home will no longer get a grant of some €260 a month towards the cost of their degree. Instead, they will be able to borrow the same amount of money from the student loan service, according to the draft legislation sent to parliament on Thursday.
‘They will soon benefit from their studies, which will still be largely paid for by the government, or taxpayer, when the loans are introduced,’ junior education minister Halbe Zijlstra said.
In addition, students will make better choices and complete their degrees faster if they have to pay for it themselves, he said.
The government has already limited the grant for basic degrees to four years in most cases.