On Wednesday, Education minister Eppo Bruins resolved the financial issue facing student sports. Universities and universities of applied sciences may still invest funds in sports facilities on campus. He has put his stricter financial oversight on hold.
Now he is doing the same for cultural centres. Student theatre, comedy clubs and music associations can continue to use theatres or other spaces on campus at low or no cost. Bruins continues to ‘tolerate’ the current situation, says his spokesperson.
Relief
This news will bring relief to cultural centres at universities and universities of applied sciences. They often receive direct or indirect support from their educational institution. For instance, in Utrecht, cultural centre Parnassos is part of the university, as is X in Delft. In Nijmegen, students can access sports and cultural offerings with a single subscription.
At Erasmus University, the cultural programme is organised by Studium Generale. Additionally, there are various student organisations dedicated to music, theatre, or dance. They organise workshops, concerts, and other events on campus.
In Eindhoven, students utilise the university’s facilities for theatre, photography, dance, and music, among other activities. For the use of these spaces, students do not pay a market rate. This means the university is indirectly subsidising them, which Bruins aimed to stop with his new rules.
Sports protests
Student sports clubs took action against the regulations because a sports pass was threatened to become more than three times as expensive. Even the House of Representatives felt on Wednesday, from left to right, that sports is an important part of student life. Therefore, Bruins promised not to enforce his rules yet.
During the debate, Sandra Beckerman from the SP also spoke about the importance of cultural activities, but minister Bruins limited his responses to student sports. He did not receive any further questions on the matter during the debate.
A spokesperson for minister Bruins stated that it is logical to exempt culture from the new policy. “It is obvious that what was tolerated will continue to be tolerated for some time and thus not enforced on unlawful spending, for example, on culture.”
Permanent solution
SP Member of Parliament Beckerman is pleased that theatre and, for example, the botanical garden will not be affected for the time being. “These are simply things that contribute to the well-being of students and their education. It’s great that the minister is now tolerating this, but a permanent solution must be found quickly.”
Thom Crielaard, chair of Scala, the umbrella organisation for cultural student associations in Eindhoven, is not yet able to breathe a sigh of relief. “Until the minister says that we definitely do not have to pay market rates, I will keep my fingers crossed.”
Bruins stated on Wednesday that he had not adequately anticipated the consequences when formulating his new policy. He is now having an impact analysis carried out.
“I’m very happy with this news”, said Kirstin Feberwee from Studium Generale at EUR. “We weren’t particularly worried, as the consequences were still vague and the studium generales already was excepted from the policy. However, we received many questions from student organisations. This is great news, especially for colleagues in other cities who have their own cultural centre.”
