Dutch universities and hbo colleges will soon again be able to use a lottery system to allocate places on popular courses, now MPs have voted in favour of the plan by education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf.

Lotteries were abandoned several years ago and selection for over-subscribed courses currently takes place on the basis of a motivational letter and exam marks.

Dijkgraaf said that there are indications the student body has become less diverse and that certain groups of students are less likely to be given a place since lotteries for courses such as medicine were stopped.

In January government inspectors also called for a rethink, saying the current system for selecting students did have an impact on equality of opportunity.

It will be up to higher education establishments themselves to decide whether or not to use the lottery in their selection procedures.

The senate still has to vote on the plan before it can become law.