THE PIE NEWS
The Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration announced it will take a “number of initiatives” to prevent student stays in the country from being used as a backdoor to the Danish labour market in a statement on September 18.
According to the ministry, it will be “significantly more difficult” for international students from third countries, mainly Bangladesh and Nepal, to study at Danish universities if they “do not have the right academic qualifications”.
“Unfortunately, the curriculum has been exploited as a backdoor to the Danish labor market. We are now taking action against this. We have seen a huge increase in recent years in students and accompanying families from Bangladesh and Nepal in particular,” read a statement by minister of Immigration and Integration Kaare Dybvad Bek, who was replaced just days after the decision by Rasmus Stoklund — a hardliner on asylum and refugees.
“We know that students from these two countries have a higher dropout rate than other foreigners, and that there are challenges with their academic and language level. At the same time, they work more than other foreign students, and to a much greater extent this is unskilled work. When you come to Denmark on a curriculum, the main purpose should of course be to study. That goes without saying.”
For their part, Nepalese and Bangladeshi students have hit out against these comments, criticising them as harmful stereotypes.
What are the new initiatives?
Apart from tightening academic entry requirements for third-country students through entrance exams or targeted language tests, Denmark will also strengthen measures against cheating.
Universities will be required to carry out stringent verification of international students’ educational documents before granting admission, with support from the National ID Center.
The Center will also review previously issued residence permits for Bangladeshi and Nepali students to assess whether they were obtained using fraudulent documents.