Soon 10 times less than veterinary students | education

The number of vet students will drop dramatically: 240 places are just a tenth of the 2,400 students now spread across the UGent and UAntwerp campuses. According to Flemish Education Minister Ben Wittes (N-VA), this restriction has been imposed. “Currently, the program is cracking in light of the large influx of students,” explains the government’s decision. Students can gain less work experience because clinics are overcrowded. Sometimes the same actions must be repeated with the same animals by different groups of students. In the end, we still struggle to find veterinarians in certain specialties or jobs, because students drop out or do not reside in Flanders.”

The number of students coming to Flanders to study veterinary medicine has been increasing for years. Flemish programs were the only ones in Europe with a non-binding calibration test, Merelbeke’s faculty is world-renowned and the program is much more affordable than our northern neighbours. Four out of ten students who take this course are Dutch. Frank Gastus, Dean of Ghent University College, is very satisfied with the action taken. “Not only me, but also all my employees. 240 is the maximum we can deal with current employees. It is also not fixed: if it turns out that there will be a shortage in four years, we can rethink it.”