Erasmus University declares PVV State Sec.'s thesis invalid after plagiarism revelation
Erasmus University Rotterdam has declared the master’s thesis of PVV State Secretary Vicky Maeijer (Long-term and Social Care) invalid. The university has been investigating her thesis since November after BNR reported that more than half of the document was copied from other texts.
Maeijer obtained her master’s degree in international and European law in 2009. BNR ran her thesis through a fraud software that universities used to detect plagiarism and found that over half of the text came from other sources, often slightly altered and in many cases not correctly cited or annotated.
For example, Maeijer wrote in her thesis: "For me, it seems that the answer to this is to be found at the UN level rather than at the EU level,” NOS reported. Another text predating her thesis says: "It seems though that the answer to this is to be found at UN rather than at the EU level.”
That can be considered plagiarism, which is absolutely not tolerated in science.
The university declaring her thesis invalid means that Maeijer will lose her master’s degree. “This decision is a huge blow for me,” the PVV State Secretary said in response. “I completed my studies with the best intentions, but as it turns out, I made major mistakes. I blame myself for that, and it should never have happened.”
Maeijer said she would speak with Erasmus University about writing a new thesis. “So I can complete my studies in the way I always intended. Namely, with hard work and according to the rules.”
