{"id":115252,"date":"2020-06-30T11:53:08","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T09:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=115252"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:59","slug":"reinstating-the-base-grant-doesnt-necessarily-mean-having-to-make-education-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/06\/30\/reinstating-the-base-grant-doesnt-necessarily-mean-having-to-make-education-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Reinstating the base grant doesn\u2019t necessarily mean having to make education cuts\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Their year as president turned out quite different to what they\u2019d expected. The Covid outbreak seemed to put everything in sharper focus, say Alex Tess Rutten (LSVb) and Kees Gillesse (ISO) during our farewell interview.<\/p>\n

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Kees Gillesse (ISO) and Alex Tess Rutten (LSVb)\n<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

In March, they were still running at full steam. And then the outbreak suddenly turned everything on its head, including the higher education sector. \u201cWe filled in every square on our videoconferencing bingo card \u2013 that\u2019s for sure,\u201d says Gillesse. \u201cYou definitely get to see a more personal side of these administrators,\u201d says a smiling Rutten. \u201cEven Minister Van Engelshoven will be checking: can everyone hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

And there was enough to discuss over the past year. More than anything, the Dutch National Student Association and the Dutch Student Union wanted to get the dismal situation for today\u2019s young people on the agenda: high student debt, an overheated housing market and a labour market that is increasingly reliant on temporary employees. And we haven\u2019t even started about dwindling pension funds and climate change. \u201cThis toxic cocktail of different policies has been an issue for a number of years already,\u201d says Rutten. \u201cBut the Covid crisis has put everything under a magnifying glass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Base grant<\/h2>

They are both passionate advocates of abolishing the current loan system. But its rationale was that the universities and universities of applied sciences would use the hundreds of millions freed up by the cancellation of the base grant to improve their education programmes<\/a>. If the next Cabinet were to reinstate the base grant, wouldn\u2019t this money dry up again? \u201cI don\u2019t accept the idea that we automatically have to choose between the two options,\u201d says Gillesse. \u201cThe claim that reintroducing the base grant equals cuts in the education budget simply isn\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a false dichotomy,\u201d agrees Rutten. \u201cPoliticians are using it to play off students and educational institutions against each other. The higher education sector needs extra money \u2013 plain and simple. By now, even the Minister admits as much. But this doesn\u2019t take away from the fact that students are just as much in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gift tokens<\/h2>

The Ministry of Education will be offering the first four years of students who missed out on a base grant a \u2018study voucher\u2019 worth roughly 2,000 euros. They can use this voucher, issued five to ten years after their graduation, for further education. The House of Representatives has asked for this money to be paid out sooner, but for the time being to no avail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, this subject gets my goat,\u201d says Gillesse. \u201cIt reminds me of those gift tokens that you have stuffed away in a drawer somewhere that you always forget to use. What a pointless voucher. Fortunately, the House seems aware of this too. I sincerely hope that the Minister will be announcing on Prinsjesdag that the students who didn\u2019t benefit from the switch to loans will be allowed to subtract this from their student debt.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Gillesse, one positive outcome of the debate regarding the \u2018quality funds\u2019 is that representative bodies have been able to strengthen their position. Institutions will only be assigned extra money if students and staff members are first allowed to offer their two cents on how it should be spent. \u201cHopefully, they\u2019ll be keeping this up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student welfare<\/h2>

Over the past year, both presidents have worked hard to call attention to student welfare. Pressure on young people has increased to the point where it is starting to affect their mental health. At the behest<\/a> of the House of Representatives, RIVM was supposed to take stock of how many students nationwide have run into the proverbial brick wall, but this inventory was postponed for a year due to the Covid crisis.<\/p>\n

Rutten would prefer not to wait for the results. \u201cBy now, there are more than enough data that make it clear that some students aren\u2019t doing too well. You could also say: this is such a serious problem that we need to do something about it \u2013 even if we don\u2019t know exactly how big it is, down to the last decimal.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would already help if the institutions where more considerate of their students, according to the two. \u201cWe need to remove this constant pressure on students,\u201d says Rutten. \u201cStop organising three exams for every credit, no deadlines during the Christmas holidays, or resits over the summer. Steps like this aren\u2019t that hard to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can only solve a problem like this by getting at the root,\u201d says Gillesse. \u201cIt\u2019s very good to read that in her Strategic Agenda<\/a>, the Minister refers for the first time to student success rather than study success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Air<\/h2>

Having to sit at home during a global crisis, with all these uncertainties about one\u2019s future, doesn\u2019t make things easier. Rutten: \u201cWe\u2019ve heard that some institutions have tried to compensate for the lack of face-to-face education with more assignments and deadlines. This isn\u2019t necessarily good news for the students \u2013 and that\u2019s putting it lightly. We\u2019re interested to see which effect this has had once the air has cleared.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Gillesse is pleased that ISO has commissioned research<\/a> into studying during the Covid crisis. Compared to two years ago, the number of students who have fallen behind in their studies has risen by as much as 54,000. \u201cThese figures are very alarming. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve called on the government to re-allow face-to-face education as soon as possible \u2013 also because we\u2019re concerned about the quality of remote education.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now?<\/h2>

Their year as presidents has run its course; they\u2019ve handed over their press telephones. \u201cOccasionally, I catch myself thinking: Where is it? Does it have a full charge?\u201d says a smiling Rutten, who plans to finish her Cultural Analysis research master programme at the University of Amsterdam after the summer. \u201cIt was an incredibly interesting experience \u2013 particularly in a crisis year like this. What I found particularly fascinating was to see how well-intentioned everyone is, but how difficult it is to translate these good intentions into concrete improvements for students.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an honour and a true pleasure,\u201d says Gillesse. \u201cAnd now I\u2019m even more aware of how much I enjoy working in the public interest. It\u2019s something I hope to keep up for the rest of my life.\u201d With a brand-new Administrative Law degree in his pocket, Gillesse will be combing through vacancies soon. \u201cBut first, I have three weeks planned relaxing near the water with a nice book.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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