Flemish government vetoes university plans for English-only MSc programmes

It's standard practice that education programmes in Flanders are taught in Dutch, the official language of Flanders and one of two official languages in Brussels.  Dutch is also Belgium’s majority language, but under certain conditions some programmes can be offered in another language, say English.

The Flemish government requests that in such cases a Dutch-language variant continues to exist alongside the foreign-language course. If an educational institution wants to abandon the Dutch-language variant, it has to motivate this in a request.

That’s exactly what the universities recently did. They submitted a package of applications requesting to teach 10 master's programmes in English only from now on and no longer in Dutch.

Flemish government veto

The Flemish government has now announced that it is refusing this application. Last year too, the government opposed similar plans from the universities.

"I understand universities wanting to respond to the demands of some sectors and wanting more foreign students," responds education Minister Ben Weyts.

"But this should not be at the expense of Flemish students. Our academic offerings must remain accessible to all. That means that Dutch must remain a fully-fledged language in our higher education."

"We believe that Flemish students have a right to an education in their own language. This is true in primary education, secondary education, but also in higher education."

Mr Weyts stressed that the Flemish government provides room for colleges and universities "to play an international role and to appeal to foreign students and foreign teachers".

He added that Dutch-language alternatives to foreign-language courses can also be partly taught in a foreign-language (up to 18.33 per cent in BScs and up to 50 per cent in MScs) under new legislation.