Researchers and university professors taking action against coalition plans

Researchers and university professors are taking action to prevent drastic cuts in the higher education sector. Platform WOinActie sees the right-wing coalition’s plans as a “destruction of higher education.”

Amsterdam Professor Rens Bod said on behalf of the platform that a lot depends on who becomes the next education minister. Bod and his fellow supporters are first trying to convince the next Cabinet that higher education, science, and research greatly benefits society.

“Science provides a lot of important contributions to our society, economy, and culture,” said Bod. “We want to show that with a science festival in October. We will also be holding an alternative opening of the academic year in September. We are trying to tackle this positively and win over the Cabinet. But if that doesn’t work and the plans continue as they are headed, we will have to take harder action.”

He said strikes are a possible next step. The parties in the incoming coalition, PVV, VVD, BBB, and NSC, want to make drastic cuts to higher education. This will amount to 215 million euros per year in education, and the research and science fund will have to give up more than one billion euros.

Another controversial plan is the return of a 3,000-euro fine for students who take over a year too long to graduate from their program. The national student union, LSVb, was “shocked” about these plans and is preparing to take action.

WOinActie stated that the proposed cuts are equivalent to closing a large Dutch university. The platform said that this would also have negative consequences for training students in professions already struggling with staffing shortages, such as teachers, doctors, judges, and engineers.