In higher professional education leniency is being shown to students who want to start a Bachelor’s programme after their secondary vocational education or associate degree programme, the ministry writes. Through no fault of their own, some have suffered delays because they were unable to attend classes or take on work placements and because exams did not go ahead. In principle, they have until 1 January 2023 to obtain their diploma.

Access to Master’s degree programmes has been relaxed again too. Universities and universities of applied sciences are allowed, under certain conditions, to admit Bachelor’s degree students and pre-Master’s students to Master’s degree programmes. The institutions themselves may decide the date by which the new students have to meet the prior education requirements, as long as it falls between 1 January 2023 and 1 September 2023.

Non-Dutch speakers

Universities are also once again permitted to make an exception for students in higher professional education who have not yet completed the propaedeutic phase and for non-Dutch speakers who were unable to take the required language test.

The relaxation does not apply to secondary school pupils. The central final exams will take place as normal, so those pupils can get their diploma on time.