Fewer students have enrolled at Dutch universities and colleges, with international student numbers dropping for the third year in a row.

The number of international students dropped by 5% at universities, continuing the trend of recent years, while 8% fewer came from other countries to study at vocational colleges.

But the number of Dutch students starting university courses was also down by 3.5%, while there was a smaller decline of 1.8% at colleges.

The lower numbers are almost entirely accounted for by fewer students arriving from other European countries, while figures for the rest of the world have levelled off.

Technical subjects are falling out of favour with college students, with 7.5% fewer opting for courses at technical faculties compared to last year.

Talent needed

Caspar van den Berg, chair of universities’ association UNL, said the downward trend was concerning. “We need to have enough knowledge and talent to carry out all the ambitious plans we’ve seen in the election manifestos,” he said.

“That’s why a new cabinet urgently needs to form a clear strategy about how we attract, train and retain talent.”

The outgoing Dutch government introduced measures to reduce the number of international students and English-taught degrees to make savings, ease the pressure on student accommodation and create more opportunities for Dutch school leavers.

Education minister Eppo Bruins said English-language course should become the exception rather than the rule. Universities would have their funding per student cut if they did not take effective steps to cap numbers on non-Dutch degree courses.

But universities warned last month that having fewer students from abroad could cost the economy €4.8 billion in the long term, with the business and financial sectors hit hardest.