Not enough self-test kits? Students are welcome on campus anyway

Even if universities and universities of applied sciences do not receive all the self-test kits they are supposed to receive this month, they will be allowed to teach their students on campus one day a week, the Ministry of Education has stated in a letter.

Self-test kits will allow tertiary education institutions to receive their students on campus one day per week starting from 26 April, says the Cabinet, but the reopening of campuses will not be contingent on negative test results.

There may be a hitch

There might be a hitch. Perhaps the education institutions will not receive as many self-test kits as they are expecting, or maybe it will take them longer than expected to get the tests to their students. However, according to the FAQ posted online by the Ministry of Education on Good Friday, this ‘will not prevent’ the universities from opening up one day a week.

Students don’t even have to take the test kits from the packaging if they don’t feel like it. According to the Ministry, use of the kits is ‘voluntary at all times’. “So students will not have to show a negative test result to be granted access to their education institution.”

No checks

Outgoing Minister for Education Ingrid van Engelshoven said the same thing last week. The universities will not actually check whether students (or employees) have a negative test result with them.

In-person seminars will continue to be socially distanced and public transport must be prevented from being overwhelmed. Regardless of whether they actually take the test, students must be prevented from boarding buses or trains at 8.30am in large numbers.

The self-test kits and their distribution will cost the government approximately half a billion euros.