The Flemish government has turned down several requests from universities to create a foreign language program. Among them, a master's program in civil engineering that did not have an equivalent option in Dutch anywhere in Flanders.
“I'm not the type of Fleming who dies of hunger with a French bread under his arm, but our young Flemings have the right to an education in their own language”, justified the Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA).
In Flanders, the language of instruction is Dutch, but this can be different in higher education, provided there is a full equivalent in Dutch. In practice, there are alternatives taught in English to existing courses. A bachelor's degree program in a foreign language has at least 18.33 per cent of foreign language subjects, but for a master's degree it has been more than 50 per cent.