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Dutch student organisations are ¡°at risk of disappearing¡± as?increasing financial pressures?discourage participation, a coalition of organisations has warned, with the groups urging education minister Eppo Bruins to take action.

Student organisations in the Netherlands are typically responsible for organising social, cultural and sporting events and providing career and educational support alongside?advocating for students¡¯ interests.?Taking up a board position usually requires suspending studies for a year, while remaining enrolled as a student, or taking a reduced course load.

Organisations have found it ¡°increasingly difficult¡± to fill their board positions in recent years, an umbrella body of?12 student groups warned in an?, with ¡°high housing and tuition costs¡± making students ¡°reluctant to take the financial risk¡±.

¡°While the inaccessibility of participating in a board year is well established, students [now] face even more constraints to complete it,¡± the umbrella body warns in its letter, noting that board members ¡°receive low compensation and little recognition¡±.

¡°Student organisations are crucial to student life,¡± the group says, calling for ¡°adequate compensation¡± and ¡°more recognition¡± for board members. ¡°We ask you to speak out about the current lack of board members, to acknowledge the value of student organisations, and to join us in taking action to increase their interest.¡±

Sarah Evink, chair of the Dutch National Student Association (ISO), told?̽»¨ÊÓƵ?that board membership ¡°is mostly voluntary work. Sometimes you do get a little bit of an allowance, but it¡¯s not enough to live on.¡±

The financial support available to students has ¡°shrunk a lot over the last few years¡±, Evink said. At present, students living at home are eligible for a monthly ¡°basic grant¡± of €125.99 (?108), while the figure for students who live away from home rises to €314. For the 2024-25 academic year, the government scrapped a bonus monthly payment of €164 per month, which was introduced in response to inflation.

In 2023, an interest rate of 0.46 per cent was introduced to the previously interest-free student loan, which rose to 2.56 per cent for most students in 2024 and 2.57 per cent in 2025. ¡°Students are now a lot more scared to delay their studies,¡± Evink said, noting that board membership requires continuous enrolment. ¡°Even if they get a little allowance, it¡¯s usually all spent on the money you have to pay to be enrolled.¡±

To support student organisations, she said, the government could increase financial support for board members. ¡°In general, they could just give more money to students because [at present] it¡¯s just very unequal: it¡¯s unfair that students with a little bit more money to spend can have this kind of experience and those who don¡¯t cannot.¡±

Students who do undertake board years, Evink said, ¡°learn a lot from it. It¡¯s very good for their future employers. It¡¯s usually a lot of hands-on experience ¨C things you don¡¯t usually learn in class.¡±

¡°It¡¯s also just a lot of fun. You get to know a lot of people, which will help [in future] as well,¡± she added. ¡°It should be available for everybody to do something like this.¡±

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com