Because of inflation, everything is getting more expensive, and government spending usually rises accordingly. But not next year. The outgoing VVD and BBB cabinet wants to cut overall spending and will allocate less money to what is known as the ‘price adjustment.’

Outgoing Minister Eelco Heinen (VVD) informed the House of Representatives of this yesterday when presenting the Budget Memorandum. Parliament will debate the new national budget on Wednesday.

Reducing this price adjustment happens more often. In 2025, half of it was withheld to balance the budget. For the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), this amounted to a total of 171.6 million euros (half of 343.2 million).

How much it will be in 2026 will become clear in the Spring Memorandum (Voorjaarsnota). Withholding the price adjustment has long-term consequences: it leaves institutions financially behind, and they can only catch up if politicians decide on additional spending.

Universities of applied sciences and universities

The Association of Universities of Applied Sciences is unhappy about the announced cut through the price adjustment. “With today’s and tomorrow’s labor market in mind, this is exactly the time to invest in higher vocational education,” says chair Maurice Limmen.

Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) also criticizes the cabinet’s course. The extra cut is expected to amount to 25 million euros for the universities, according to a statement, on top of other cuts that add up to roughly 300 million euros per year. “It is incomprehensible that this cabinet continues to cut funding for knowledge and innovation, while these are essential to keeping our country safe, resilient, and healthy,” says chair Caspar van den Berg.

The previously announced cuts of more than one billion euros in education and research are still included in the budget; nothing has changed there. The only exception is the ‘educational opportunities scheme’ in secondary education. As promised (and leaked), that will remain in place.

Internationals

The cabinet wants to save 168 million euros on the number of international students. But fewer students are already coming to the Netherlands than projected. The cut is therefore almost achieved already. In 2026, universities of applied sciences will only need to reduce spending by 1.9 million euros and universities by 4.1 million euros. Together, that amounts to six million.

Overall, however, spending on education will drop by about three billion euros, which is only partly due to the cuts of roughly one billion. The rest is the result of the expected decline in the number of pupils and students.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.