{"id":164747,"date":"2024-03-05T10:54:04","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T09:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=164747"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:12","slug":"dijkgraaf-reassures-house-institutions-wont-misspend-proceeds-of-student-loan-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/03\/05\/dijkgraaf-reassures-house-institutions-wont-misspend-proceeds-of-student-loan-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Dijkgraaf reassures House: institutions won\u2019t misspend proceeds of student loan system"},"content":{"rendered":"

Will higher education institutions continue to spend the millions of euros they received as a result of the student loan system on better education if government oversight is suspended? The House of Representatives has its doubts, but outgoing Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf says these are unwarranted.<\/p>\n

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Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister of Education, Culture and Science.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMartijn Beekman\/Rijksoverheid<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

When the basic student grant was abolished in 2015, institutions were allowed to use the proceeds of the new system to improve their teaching. This was under the condition that their \u2018quality plans\u2019 were approved by accreditation body NVAO and that the participation councils and supervisory boards would have a say in them.<\/p>\n

Now that the basic student grant has been reinstated as of last year, Minister Dijkgraaf wants to simply hand over the freed-up funds to the institutions. In 2024, this will amount to \u20ac419 million for universities of applied sciences and \u20ac244 million for research universities.<\/p>\n\n\t

Checks and balances<\/h2>

As far as the Minister is concerned, there\u2019s no need for the NVAO to check how this money is spent after 2024. He is confident that \u201ceven after the current quality agreements expire, institutions will remain committed to improving the quality of their education\u201d. The participation councils will also continue to be involved in the decision-making process to ensure that funds are allocated appropriately.<\/p>\n

A number of parties are uneasy about this, given the fact that many institutions failed to meet previous agreements<\/a>. The VVD wants to know what \u2018fallback options\u2019 the government has should it turn out that institutions are spending the millions elsewhere. According to Minister Dijkgraaf, there are still plenty of checks and balances. For example, the NVAO can revoke the accreditation of underperforming programmes.<\/p>\n

But the organisation won\u2019t be able to do this if programme inspections disappear, warns NSC, which is against allowing institutions to inspect their own educational offerings<\/a>. The party led by Pieter Omtzigt would rather see spot checks on top of the current programme inspections.<\/p>\n

Spot checks<\/h2>

Minister Dijkgraaf considers such spot checks \u201cdisproportionate\u201d and believes that this kind of \u201csupervision stacking\u201d would lead to an excessive regulatory burden. Only if a subsequent cabinet decides to make the institutions themselves responsible for accreditation could spot checks be used \u2013 if there are signs that a programme is failing.<\/p>\n

Nor is the Minister worried that the participation councils will not be sufficiently involved in how the money is spent. The institutions and student organisations have agreed that decision-making on this funding falls under the \u2018broad budget outline\u2019, which must be approved by the participation councils. In case of disagreement, the participation councils can appeal to the national disputes committee.<\/p>\n\n\t

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