There is a hefty stack of paper in front of Maurice Limmen. Behind the president of the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences are crates containing many more student objections to the long-study fine. Limmen, with a microphone in his hand at the door of the House of Representatives, simply begins at the top of the pile by reading them out.

“I object to the fine. I am a long-time student because of the death of my mother. I also cared for my brother as a family caregiver after his accident until the time of his death.”

Limmen reads another: “While studying nursing, my grandfather died of lung cancer, and while writing my thesis, I was told that a friend was seriously ill.” Due to mental problems, the student in question took three years longer to complete her studies. “It is unfair that because of my mental health I would be fined for studying too long.”

25,000

Over the past month, the college collected from students and staff more than 25,000 objections to the government's plan to introduce a long-study fine. A “reading marathon” begins today – because all objections must be heard, the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences believes. Among others, politicians Rob Jetten (leader of D66), Jimmy Dijk (SP) and Laurens Dassen (Volt) will each read out dozens of objections for fifteen minutes.

The new cabinet wants every bachelor or master student who takes more than one year off from 2026 to pay an additional three thousand euros in tuition fees. That should save the treasury some 285 million euros a year. It is only one of many cuts to higher education, but this long-study fine is the most eye-catching.

Injuries and side jobs  

And the most hated. Universities and colleges are adamantly opposed. So are students: in their objections, they call the fine “ridiculous,” “unfair,” “unlawful” and “nonsense.”

They explain that there are many reasons for study delays. Illness, a death in the family, debt, side jobs, mental problems, performance pressure, chronic illness ...

A student in an athletic training program has been severely delayed due to two serious injuries. A mbo student has been piling on one study after another for years to move upwards and would also run into the penalty that way. It is a “step backwards for humanity,” Volt leader Laurens Dassen reads from one of the objections.

Consequences

As Dassen continues reading, Maurice Limmen explains why he is also touring other colleges to have the objections read out loud. “The fine is a barrier to participating in higher education,” he believes.

Recently he was at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, where a woman told him that because of the announced fine, she wants to choose a different study: instead of a bachelor's she is going to do an associate degree, where, according to the cabinet plans, the fine will not apply. Limmen: “She said, ‘I can just about financially afford to go back to college, but I can't take this fine.’” The announcement of the fine “is already having an impact,” Limmen observes.

Kicking ass?

“It's the huge variety of reasons that gets me,” says D66 leader Rob Jetten after his readout. “The other day I spoke to a student who is stacking studies to move up. For him, the long-term study penalty is an additional reason to hesitate about continuing studying. The measure affects the very group that can emancipate themselves through higher education.”

Wouldn’t some long-time students actually benefit from a kick in the butt? “Those students do exist, but that is only a small group,” Jetten estimates. “While introducing the fine stresses everyone out. Suppose the minister succeeds in exempting certain groups of students when working out the bill, then the financial return on the fine is so low that you can wonder why you would do it in the first place.”

SP leader Jimmy Dijk, meanwhile, is poised to take over from Laurens Dassen. This month, the reading aloud marathon will also go to Leiden University of Applied Sciences and other institutions. Then it will return to The Hague. On Tuesday, November 26, the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences will hand over all objections to the Education Committee of the House of Representatives.