{"id":171503,"date":"2024-09-12T13:55:07","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T11:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=171503"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:28","slug":"government-cancels-starter-and-incentive-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/09\/12\/government-cancels-starter-and-incentive-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"Government cancels starter and incentive grants"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government has abandoned cuts of 215 million euros to the universities\u2019 national sector plans, NOS reports. It intends to scrap starter and incentive grants instead.<\/p>\n

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Lecturers and staff protest against the proposed cuts.<\/span><\/p>

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In other words, the proposed cuts remain in place. This is the main thrust of the news<\/a> revealed on Tuesday night by public broadcaster NOS. The government is pressing ahead with cutbacks of nearly one billion euros in higher education and research.<\/p>\n

1,200 jobs<\/h2>

However, the planned cuts have been altered to some extent. The universities had threatened to go to court over proposed cuts to their sector plans, worth 215 million euros a year.<\/p>\n

These plans enable universities to make national agreements on research and education. They include a pledge to create around 1,200 jobs, especially for young scientists, a target agreed with the previous education minister, Robbert Dijkgraaf.<\/p>\n

Starter grants<\/h2>

The government will now leave these sector plans untouched, but remains determined to make cuts in higher education. As NOS reports, the new education minister, Eppo Bruins, has now shifted his focus to the universities\u2019 starter and incentive grants.<\/p>\n

These grants, funded by government but allocated by the universities themselves, were intended to lighten the heavy staff workload and create greater \u2018calm and stability\u2019 across the sector. The previous government saw the grants as a way to ease the pressure on researchers in a constant battle for Dutch Research Council funding.<\/p>\n\n\t

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