Egelund could face increased political pressure over the enrolment of a large number of students from Bangladesh at Roskilde University, according to newspaper Berlingske.
The minister was last week summoned to a committee in parliament after the newspaper reported that Roskilde University, RUC, had decided to increase enrolment of international students from non-EU countries, primarily Bangladesh, in order to increase revenues.
According to Berlingske’s report, based on internal RUC documents, the decision helped the university financially but could have a negative impact on academic standards. Egelund’s ministry is reported to have been aware of the enrolments.
The immigration spokesperson from the far-right Danish People’s Party, Mikkel Bjørn, told Berlingske Egelund should resign.
“She can’t have been in that role and seen this happen with her own eyes while the government tries to sell the notion it pursues responsible policies on immigration,” he said.
Another opposition party, Liberal Alliance, also criticised the minister.
The party’s higher education spokesperson Sandra Sklavig said that parliament must find out whether Egelund was personally aware of the enrolments, which took place in 2022.
Egelund has said that rules for enrolment of non-EU international students will be tightened from 2026.
She also said that some students from Bangladesh had misused their student visas to gain access to the labour market.
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“This is an unsustainable situation which needs me to intervene and do something about it,” she said in August.
She also said that “being able to come to Denmark and bring your spouse and children” is a “parametre” which “must be looked at”, according to news wire Ritzau.
Egelund’s initiated an investigation in August into raised numbers of students from Nepal and Bangladesh applying to and being enrolled at Danish universities.
Universities with cheaper application and tuition fees are seeing the highest volume of applications, meaning these could be put up, the minister said at the time.
Around one in seven of RUC’s newly enrolled graduate students in 2024 were from Bangladesh, Berlingske reported in July.
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