Rector says Minister would have been ‘wise’ to be more explicit on education-related measures

Erasmus University’s Rector, Rutger Engels, on Tuesday morning said on the live talk show Erasmus TV that the Prime Minister and his colleagues should have been a bit more explicit in the press conference they gave on Monday evening about the impact the latest coronavirus restrictions will have on the education sector.

The Dutch Cabinet announced on Monday evening that a ban on public gatherings will be in effect until the 1st of June. Things got a bit murky when a journalist asked Ferd Grapperhaus, the Minister for Justice and Security, how schools and universities would be impacted by that ban. Grapperhaus replied that the education sector had implemented its own measures, which for the time being will remain in effect until the 6th of April.

“The ministers would have been wise to be a little more explicit on the education sector,” Engels said on the subject. “For instance, a lot of secondary school pupils are currently worried about the [school-leaving] exams. They should have been given clarity on that score.” On Tuesday, just after the talk show, it was announced that this year’s school-leaving examinations have been called off.

Lectures on campus or not?

On Monday evening, the university’s Executive Board and the crisis management team discussed the consequences of the newly announced measures. They will meet again on Tuesday to discuss the teaching of lectures and seminars in the lead-up to summer. Will all those classes be taught online, or is there an outside possibility that they may be able to be taught on campus at some point?

By now the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) has announced to its students that it will only provide online teaching until summer. Engels is not ready yet to make a similar decision for all the other faculties. “We don’t know yet whether we will be able to return to campus after the 6th of April. We will hold on to that date for now, but obviously that may change. If we are given the green light to return to campus, we should do that, and offer in-class teaching, too.”