Political deal to replace student grants with loans

By Jan Petter Myklebust. After months of planning and negotiating, Jet Bussemaker, minister for education, culture and science in The Netherlands, has struck an agreement with two opposition parties on a bill that will convert student grants into loans from 1 January 2015. The move will free up €1 billion (US$1.4 billion) from the state higher education budget. An estimated €200 million to €300 million a year will be allocated as grants to students whose families earn less than €46,000 a year. The rest, said Bussemaker, will be ploughed back into higher education to improve quality. Read more...