Positive advice second phase Npuls
The advisory committee of the National Growth Fund has given the outgoing Cabinet a positive recommendation for the second phase of Npuls. This means that Npuls can continue to build the future of further education for another six years.
In recent months, the NGF committee has been examining the “Programme Plan Phase 2” submitted to the committee by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science on behalf of Npuls. This plan sets out what the sector will be working on between now and the end of Npuls in 2031. It also includes specific sector targets for 2028 and 2031, with which vocational education, higher professional education and university education have committed themselves to achieving the goals of Npuls.
The committee has recommended that €244.7 million be made available unconditionally for the next two years. In 2027, OCW and Npuls will present the progress of the programme in the sector to the NGF committee, provide insight into the impact achieved for learners and education professionals to date, and involve them in the sustainable safeguarding and embedding of outcomes and results.
As the committee realises that an interim evaluation should not cause any delays, the funding for the CTL scheme and the sector facility to be built for registration, enrolment and subscription will be granted in full (as part of the €244.7 million). This takes into account the financial commitments that Npuls and institutions must make in order to achieve these goals.
We are very pleased with this result and are grateful to the committee for their positive advice and confidence in the programme. The outgoing Cabinet has adopted the committee's advice in its entirety. This decision has been incorporated into the 2026 National Budget (Miljoenennota), which will be presented to the House of Representatives and the Senate on Prinsjesdag (16 September). The decision will be final once both Houses have approved the 2026 NGF budget and the 2026 OCW budget.
Note on financing
The National Growth Fund has allocated €560 million to Npuls for eight years in 2022. The allocation consisted of two phases, with €140 million being allocated unconditionally for phase 1 and €420 million being allocated conditionally for phase 2. The advisory committee now recommends that €244.7 million of this €420 million for the second phase be made unconditionally available for the next two years. This leaves €175.3 million conditionally reserved for Npuls for the remaining four years.