Let’s Talk… about ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ education

Outgoing Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf wants to get rid of terms like ‘lower’ and ‘higher’ education. According to him, this use of language perpetuates inequality. He prefers to speak of ‘practical’ and ‘theoretical’ education. What do you think?

On our Instagram, we already do this every week. We have a topic and ask our followers: join the discussion? We are now expanding that, because we would love to hear from you!

All types of education are equal, according to the minister, and because of terms such as ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ education, students often feel pressured to go for the ‘highest achievable’. Should this fail, it causes a lot of stress, says the minister.

Do you agree? Does the stigma disappear if we use different terms? Where do you think the problem actually lies? And how do we ensure more equal opportunities? Should the Dutch education system be completely different? We would love to hear your opinion!