Universities hope for better days after coalition’s collapse

On the same day as the fall of the Dutch coalition government on 3 June, precipitated by the exit of Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders from the government, the country’s peak university body issued a call for a reversal in the government’s austerity measures.

In a statement, Universiteiten van Nederlands (UNL) said the effects of the measures were already visible and had led to “layoffs, lost courses and stalled research”.

It stated: “It is of great importance that politics reverses this destructive government policy before it is too late.”

The statement goes on to say that given the current “economically and geopolitically uncertain times”, it was essential for the country to invest in education, research and innovation, and that it “continues to offer sufficient space for international talent.

“Universities can continue to play a crucial role in the major challenges of the Netherlands and Europe, but the foundation must be in order. Other countries are fully committed to knowledge and innovation. It is high time that the Netherlands does the same”.

Education is not a cost item

UNL president Caspar van den Berg is quoted as saying: “What the Netherlands needs now is that politics from left to right starts looking at education, research and innovation as the strategic engine for prosperity, freedom and security.

“This government did not do that and saw it as a cost item. It is to be hoped that political parties will quickly say goodbye to that short-sighted view and focus on what really helps the Netherlands move forward.”

Speaking to University World News, Ruben Puylaert, spokesman for UNL, said much was still unclear about what the government collapse will mean for universities.

“The budget cuts for this year have been approved by parliament. However, the spring budget – which includes further cuts to higher education – still needs to be debated in the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is still uncertain what impact the government-coalition collapse will have on the debate and vote in parliament on the spring budget,” he said.

In its own press release, the National Student Union (LSVb) said it was “with relief” that they noted that Wilders had left the coalition and the government had folded. They also expressed the hope, like UNL, that the fall of the government would mean changes in the university-related policies.

“The National Student Union (LSVb) hopes that the fall of the government will mean the end of the terrible cuts and that the next government will invest in education, that the basic grant will increase and that there will be enough affordable student housing,” the press release stated.

LSVb Chairman Abdelkader Karbache said: “The student movement is stronger than ever. Let this year's demonstrations be a warning to the next government. We have already stopped a large part of the cuts in education, and the budget has only been approved after months of delay and uncertainty.

“Hopefully, it won't have to go that far again with the next government, but we are more than prepared to take to the barricades again. We are already in action mode!”

What’s next?

Analysing the possible consequences for universities, VOX, the news magazine for the Radboud University of Nijmegen, said that the cuts in education and research will likely not disappear immediately.

“One thing won’t change in the coming months: the government itself. It will continue to govern with an ‘outgoing’ status. The PVV ministers are stepping down, but Eppo Bruins is the education minister on behalf of NSC [National Social Contract] and is likely to remain in office until a successor takes over.

“That could easily take a year. The previous government (with Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf) continued to govern for 361 days before Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s team took office. The government before that (Rutte-III with Minister of Education Ingrid van Engelshoven) had an outgoing status for 360 days,” Vox wrote.

However, Vox argued that the “Internationalisation in Balance” Act would probably not be put on the backburner, since its most controversial part – the government’s foreign language education test to establish the need for English-taught bachelor programmes – had recently been scrapped by Parliament.

“The elections are an opportunity to reverse cutbacks, but it’s by no means a certainty that this will happen. That being said, it does seem unlikely that education and research will face even bigger cutbacks,” Vox argued.

Ongoing protest action

Meanwhile, a new education-related strike is to take place on 10 June in The Hague, Ukrant, the magazine of Groningen University, reported.

“Among others, the FNV trade union [Netherlands Trade Union Confederation] is calling on all RUG [University of Groningen] employees to participate in the new national education strike on Tuesday 10 June.

“Under the motto ‘Stop the demolition’, thousands of people will probably travel to the Malieveld [Park in The Hague] that day to protest against the millions in cuts that the current government is imposing on higher education.

“This strike follows the relay strikes of late March and early April, when universities went on strike one by one. The RUG also joined in on 18 March.

“That strike culminated in a gathering of some 2,500 people on the Grote Markt. The unions had previously said they would continue demonstrating until something changed,” UKrant reported.

In its press release, FNV, the largest workers’ union in the Netherlands, said that getting rid of the Schoof government could be good also for higher education.

“This dramatic cabinet has fallen; now their cutbacks,” said Sam Verduijn, head of FNV education and research.

“The Schoof cabinet has made a mess of higher education. Jobs and training courses have disappeared due to indifferent, hard cutbacks of more than a billion euros. The workload and uncertainty are sky-high.

“We sincerely hope that the next cabinet is convinced of the value of education and chooses to invest in the future of the Netherlands. Until then, we will continue to campaign to reverse the cutbacks, even if this cabinet continues in a caretaker capacity,” FNV said.

Kristy Claassen, a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Twente, who has participated in the “Twente for Protest” action, said the collapse of the cabinet was a reminder of how quickly political tides can turn, for better or worse.

“I hope this marks a shift in the right direction. Now, more than ever, education must remain at the heart of political priorities. What gives me hope is the emergence of strong activist networks in academia, as we have seen here in Twente, where the protest movement is more active and unified than ever before.

“I believe this foundation will propel us forward in the coming months, whatever comes next,” she told University World News.

Commitment to academic freedom

Earlier, on 30 May, the rectors of Dutch universities issued a joint statement calling for respect for academic freedom at universities.

“Universities must be able to operate independently, free from imposed political, ideological, or commercial influence. Institutional autonomy is not a privilege but a necessary condition for reliability and academic freedom. The government plays an essential role in safeguarding that autonomy,” the statement said.

Independent higher education strategist Peter van der Hijden said he saluted the rectors’ call for a national dialogue on academic freedom, which connects well with the Dutch tradition of “speaking your mind”.

“Political parties will be open to arguments that interpret the nationalist Zeitgeist more positively, a window not to be missed,” he told University World News.

“Therefore, universities should continue to demonstrate to the broader public their service to Dutch society in terms of appealing discoveries and their firm intention to open their degree-locked learning offer so that certified citizen-learners become allies and feel part of the local academic community,” he noted.