Tuition fees may only need to rise by 67 euros

Tuition fees may only need to rise by 67 euros

 

 

Tuition fees might actually only have to rise by 67 to 85 euros, instead of the announced 105 euros. Inflation is probably lower than the Central Office for Statistics (CBS) thinks. Last August, Minister Dijkgraaf reported that tuition fees would rise by 105 euros by September 2023. Earlier, the fee even seemed to go up by 212 euros, but the ministry adjusted the calculation.

 

That 212 euros by which tuition fees would initially rise was based on April’s inflation, which was 9.6 per cent, according to CBS. But the statistics office is by now doubting its own figures. The sky-high inflation in recent months seems to have been an overestimate. Using a new method, that rate would be between 5.6 and 7.3.

 

67 euros
Still, as announced, tuition fees are going up by 105 euros. This is, because the ministry from now on will take the average inflation over a 12-month period into account. That gives fewer fluctuations. But should CBS adjust its inflation calculation, tuition fees would only have to go up by 67 to 85 euros. It is not yet known whether the ministry will act on this. The new rate for academic year ’23/’24 has already been set and the statistics office does not expect to introduce the new method until mid-2023. (HOP, BB)