The new government wants to cut around two billion euros from education, one billion of which will impact higher education institutions and scientific research. Five left-wing opposition parties, led by GroenLinks-PvdA, reject these cuts as “unacceptable”.
Together with SP, Denk, Volt and PvdD, they are proposing cuts of two billion to the business sector. For example, by doing away with fossil subsidies and other tax breaks.
Red line
In a press release, the left-wing parties remind the government that it lacks a Senate majority. Member of the House of Representatives Luc Stultiens points out that if the opposition parties form a united front, the cuts can still be blocked. “Our hope is that the entire opposition draws a red line this week”, he said
But D66, CDA and JA21 have come up with a less rigorous alternative that involves rolling back ‘a mere’ 1.3 billion euros in cuts. The backing of these three parties would enable the government to steer its education, culture and science budget through the Senate. Meanwhile, ANP reports that the Christian Union has also joined this camp.
Cheaper alternative
D66, CDA and JA21 say they will use their power in the Senate to halt many of the proposed government cuts in education and research. Their announcement comes as the House of Representatives gears up to debate the budget for education, science and culture.
The three parties want to rein in government cutbacks by around 1.3 billion euros. The government has budgeted cuts of around 2 billion euros in education, a substantial part of which will impact higher education.
If the opposition parties get their way, the slow-progress penalty for students who take too long to complete their studies will not go ahead. That will make a difference of around 292 million euros. The measure is not popular, even with education minister Eppo Bruins of NSC, who is looking for an alternative.
They also want the cuts to internationalisation taken off the table. The government has taken out an advance on the fall in the number of foreign students by already booking in 272 million euros as a saving.
In addition, the opposition wants universities to keep their funding for start-up and incentive grants, which they can use to pay for blue-sky research. It also wants to see cuts to the Dutch Research Council reversed.
No majority
In the Senate, the ruling coalition lacks a majority, so one way or another the government has to broker deals in support of its policies, for example by enlisting the support of this trio of opposition parties. If the Senate rejects the new budget, the previous one will remain in force and the cuts will fall by the wayside.
“The government will have to shift its position in any case, given the major resistance outside the political arena”, said Jan Paternotte, member of the House of Representatives for D66. “These are the biggest education cuts ever. There’s not an expert to be found who thinks they make sense.”
Today, thousands of students, teachers and researchers are expected to descend on The Hague to demonstrate against the cuts. On Tuesday, the debate on the education budget gets underway in the House of Representatives.
Alternative cuts
The three opposition parties have come up with some alternatives to the government cuts. For example, they want to save 400 million euros by having medical specialists work as salaried employees instead of in all kinds of partnerships. This plan has won the backing of the VVD and now seems like a viable proposition.
Another proposal is to give workers the option to continue working and take the state pension at a later date. This too will save the government a considerable sum, Paternotte argues. Last but not least, the three opposition parties want to claw back more money by reducing the health insurance excess to 185 euros a year, instead of 165.
