{"id":109189,"date":"2020-02-12T15:13:17","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T14:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=109189"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:42","slug":"vvd-will-extra-millions-from-student-grants-really-benefit-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/02\/12\/vvd-will-extra-millions-from-student-grants-really-benefit-education\/","title":{"rendered":"VVD: will extra millions from student grants really benefit education?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many students are noticing that their education is improving, now that the basic student grant has been abolished in favour of giving higher education millions more in additional funding? During a major political debate, the VVD political party clashed with Minister of Education Ingrid Van Engelshoven.<\/p>\n

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For many hours, debate in the House of Representatives raged about the views and choices outlined by the Minister in her strategic agenda: lotteries for degree programmes, online lectures, other funding. not a topical item was left out.<\/p>\n

But the most striking moment was the run-in between the VVD and Minister Van Engelshoven of D66. Liberal MP Dennis Wiersma wanted to know how many students are actually seeing quality improvements in higher education.<\/p>\n

Promises<\/h2>

The basic student grant was abolished in order to boost higher education with hundreds of millions of additional funding. But what happened to all those great promises? The VVD fears that not all students are reaping the rewards. \u201cI speak on behalf of all students who say: my education still leaves much to be desired.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complaint got on Minister Van Engelshoven\u2019s nerves. Universities and universities of applied sciences all need to make \u2018quality agreements\u2019 with their student participation counsel, she explains. The quality watchdog NVAO (Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders) assesses compliance, as agreed. Some institutions have already been approved, others have not. This is all explained on the Ministry\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t

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