The interest rate reduction for unlucky students seems to take longer. The House of Representatives must make a decision at the end of February if it wants to compensate students from 2026. This is becoming increasingly difficult.
According to Education Minister Robert Dijkgraaf, it is difficult to adjust the interest rate for the fallen generation before 2026. The procedure requires a change in the law and this takes time.
That is why the decision must be made no later than the end of February if the scheme is to enter into force in 2026. This will be difficult, because the current House of Representatives appears to want to leave the matter to the new Council of Ministers. The National Security Council, Peter Omtzgut’s party, plans to do just that.
The matter is striking, because Omtzgut presented a proposal to lower interest rates last year. This must be done with money freed up by reducing tax benefits for expats.
Part of the house is worried about where the money is going
D66 and SP fear that this money will be spent differently, as a decision on the benefit of students is still pending. The two parties want to build the so-called “Chinese Wall” around this amount to ensure that students from the unlucky generation receive some form of compensation. But the proposal did not gain a majority in the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon.
PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB voted against. National Security Council representative, Ant-Gili Soibbor, stressed that the money coming from the reduction of the expatriate scheme is actually intended for the unlucky generation. He believes it doesn’t need to be meant this way twice. “This money is in good hands with us.”
The likelihood of a new government taking office very quickly, before the end of February, is almost non-existent. Negotiations between PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB are still in full swing. Whistleblower Ronald Plasterk plans to publish a report on the talks in early February. If the parties want to continue negotiating a coalition agreement, it will almost certainly take another two or three months before a new government is formed.
Most students who studied between September 2015 and September 2023 were affected by the loan scheme. They did not have a basic scholarship and had to borrow all the money they needed to study from DUO. Combined with expectations that interest rates will remain low, this has led to rising debt. The chamber wants to accommodate these students by reducing interest on loans.
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