Last Friday, Minister Eppo Bruins outlined the broad lines of his policy for secondary vocational education, higher education, and scientific research. It gives both his political allies and opponents an insight into the direction he is taking.
Bruins aims to better align education with the job market and the needs of society. Additionally, he wants to reduce the competition (the struggle for students) within higher education: funding for higher education should become more stable, and universities and universities of applied sciences will be obliged to coordinate their educational offerings.
Questions about legal obligation to discuss
Universities are particularly pleased that Bruins intends to reduce their administrative burdens. “This is urgently needed, as they are currently high and seem destined to rise further in the near future”, stated a written response from the Dutch Universities Association (UNL) on the letter.
However, then there are those cuts. “The major problem at the moment is that there is a reduction of half a billion euros in higher education and science. Universities are being forced to lay off staff, cut their educational offerings, and halt research into areas such as cancer treatments and Parkinson’s disease.”
While universities find less competition and more collaboration a good idea in principle, a legal obligation for mutual consultation regarding educational offerings? Universities assert that they are already in discussion. They have established a joint arrangement for small and unique programmes in the humanities. “The question is what a legal obligation would actually contribute to that.”
'Lack of ambition'
The Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (VH) also sees little merit in such a legal requirement for mutual consultation. “Universities of applied sciences have already indicated that they want to take collective responsibility. Legislation in this area is unnecessary”, is stated on the association’s website.
The universities of applied sciences particularly miss ‘concrete ambition’ in the letter. Take the alignment of education with the job market: do you want employees to update their knowledge or retrain if necessary? They are advocating for universities of applied sciences to be tasked with providing the study offerings for this.
Additionally, universities of applied sciences would like to offer more master’s programmes. They quote the minister: “Education, research, and innovation are the catalysts for productivity and prosperity growth.” For this reason alone, they believe that students in higher professional education deserve all support if they wish to pursue a master’s.
'Diploma factory'
The National Student Union (LSVb) is concerned that higher education is turning into a ‘diploma factory’, says chairperson Abdelkader Karbache. “The minister has a total focus on the job market.”
Bruins criticises, among other things, the ‘upward pressure’ that students feel: the urge to obtain a ‘higher’ diploma. “It would be nice if he could explain where that pressure comes from”, says Karbache. He believes that young people do not pay much attention to the job market or easily sway towards different study choices. “That would be somewhat naïve. The technical universities have been trying for years to attract more women into technology, and that hasn’t really worked either.”
Fear for more selection
For this reason, he views with some suspicion the plans for ‘capacity funding’ in higher education, or funding that is less dependent on student numbers. He fears this could lead to fewer students and more selection. “We are very concerned about that. More time and research are needed, but as students, we want to be very cautious here.”
This concern also occupies the mind of Mylou Miché, chairperson of the Dutch National Student Association. She too anticipates that capacity funding will be accompanied by selection. “That will increase performance pressure”, she predicts. “We do not see this as a good option. Students should be able to develop freely as they wish.”
She has more reservations about the letter, which she finds vague. The minister wants calm in the system, but what does that mean? “In that system, there are 800,000 students, and they are essentially not the focus. What exactly does the minister intend to do to promote equal opportunities and accessibility?”
She does understand that Bruins is attentive to shortages in areas such as healthcare and education, and to the problem of declining student numbers. “We, as students, also find it important that there is some future perspective attached to a study, but how does he intend to ensure this?”
Politics
It is also uncertain how the letter will be received in politics. “I find it very vague”, says Member of the House of Representatives Jan Paternotte from the opposition party D66. “The letter suggests a bit of what he wants to achieve, but how? It all comes across to me as a distraction: he is trying to make it seem as if the cuts do not affect people.”
And the focus on alignment with the job market? “Everyone is in favour of a good alignment and a critical view on the offerings”, says Paternotte, “but at this moment, student numbers are declining so rapidly that it is causing problems for institutions and programmes are going to disappear. And Bruins does not provide answers when you ask what he actually wants regarding the number of foreign students.”
The coalition party VVD is more open-minded. Member of the House of Representatives Claire Martens-America also has many questions, for example regarding the speed and implementation. “But for now, I am certainly positive”, she says.
The VVD finds the focus on the job market and society logical. “From the political side, we have little say over the educational offerings, but we are held accountable for societal challenges in areas such as healthcare, education, and technology”, says Martens-America. “Politics rightly maintains a distance from education, but now we also see the pitfalls of that. It seems healthy to take a closer look at this.”
