The University of Twente and Saxion University of Applied Sciences are taking the situation of Iranian students into account in their programmes, write regional newspaper Tubantia and Saxion magazine SaxNow.
Saxion, for example, is considering introducing a ‘limited emergency fund’ for Iranian students, since a number of them face practical problems that had already begun before the United States and Israel launched their attack on Iran.
During the recent protests, which were violently suppressed, the Iranian regime imposed a nationwide internet shutdown. This meant that tasks such as transferring money or completing official online processes became difficult, writes U-Today.
Iranians in the Netherlands are naturally also worried about family, friends and peers in their home country. In various places they have recently held gatherings or lit candles. In Utrecht, a commemoration is planned for 19 March.
Emergency fund
Erasmus University Rotterdam organised a ‘support meeting’ for its students and staff from Iran at the end of January, reports university magazine Erasmus Magazine. The university has highlighted the general emergency fund for students, which Iranians may be able to draw on.
Delft University of Technology also says that Iranian students can make use of facilities such as study advisors and student psychologists and that financial measures have been taken to support them, according to university magazine Delta.
Student numbers increased
The number of Iranian students at Dutch higher education institutions has increased sharply. In 2020, 354 Iranian students were registered in the Netherlands, mainly at universities. In 2024, their number had risen to 1,213. The majority are enrolled in higher vocational education (HBO).
Nuffic, the organisation for internationalisation in education, says that the structure of primary and secondary education changed in Iran around 2019. Until then, primary school and secondary school together lasted eleven years, after which pupils could take one extra year if they wanted to go on to higher education. Since 2019, that extra year has been added to secondary school as standard.
“We used to assess the Iranian secondary school diploma as ‘4 years of senior general secondary education (HAVO)’, which meant it did not grant access to Dutch higher education”, a Nuffic spokesperson explains. With that extra school year, Iranian students reach ‘5 years of HAVO’.This means they now have a diploma that in principle gives access to Dutch higher vocational education, subject to additional requirements such as English-language proficiency or mathematics level.
Total migration from Iran, including refugees, researchers and others, has also increased. Some of the Iranian students were therefore already living in the Netherlands before starting a programme here.
Other countries
Higher education is also seeing more and more students from other countries. In that respect, Iran is no exception. The growth in the number of international students in higher education has now been curbed, but that is mainly because fewer Germans are coming here. They traditionally form the largest group of international students in the Netherlands.