{"id":172569,"date":"2024-10-21T15:35:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T13:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=172569"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:32","slug":"hundreds-of-demonstrators-protest-against-slow-progress-penalty-say-goodbye-to-your-fine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/10\/21\/hundreds-of-demonstrators-protest-against-slow-progress-penalty-say-goodbye-to-your-fine\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of demonstrators protest against slow-progress penalty: \u2018Say goodbye to your fine!\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around a thousand students protested on Friday afternoon against the 3,000 euros fine for delayed studies. \u201cWe won\u2019t let a police blockade stop us!\u201d<\/p>\n

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The demonstrators walked through The Hague in a long line.<\/span><\/p>

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\u2018Screw the government\u2019, \u2018Say goodbye to your fine\u2019, \u2018Let me study, not stagnate\u2019\u2026 Students hold up countless banners and protest signs. Among them are communists handing out flyers, but also students dressed in suits and ties.<\/p>\n

On a stage opposite The Hague Central Station, a range of speakers addressed the crowd during the protest against the slow-progress penalty. They led the enthusiastic crowd in chants: \u2018Fight, fight, fight, education is a right!\u2019<\/p>\n

Across the country<\/h2>

Hundreds of students from across the country had gathered. When asked, they could easily list reasons why their studies might take longer. One is serving a year on a student association board, another has a chronic illness, yet another spends a lot of time playing sports and also has personal issues.<\/p>\n

Maurice Limmen, chair of the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, was also present, along with several applied sciences administrators. He addressed the crowd and listed the many cities from which applied sciences students had travelled: Breda, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and even Groningen. They all cheered.<\/p>\n

3-0 behind<\/h2>
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Abdelkader Karbache took the stage to talk to the protesters.<\/span><\/p>

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At the edge of the field, Abdelkader Karbache was speaking to the press. He is the chair of the Dutch Student Union LSVb and the driving force behind the protest. \u201cWe\u2019re not just here because of the slow-progess penalty\u201d, he said. \u201cThe government wants to cut a billion euros. That\u2019s equivalent to two entire universities or multiple universities of applied sciences. Even if the fine is scrapped, we\u2019ll still be 3-0 behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also took the stage, where he called the government\u2019s plans \u2018outrageous\u2019. Some young people, he said, are dropping out of their studies or not even starting because it\u2019s become so expensive. There are huge labour market shortages, yet the government is driving students away, he sneered.<\/p>\n

Strict<\/h2>

Karbache also struck a slightly stern tone. Why are students allowing themselves to be used as piggy banks that politicians can smash open? According to him, students are a small group, and politicians think, \u2018no one cares anyway\u2019. \u201cAnd let\u2019s be honest, they\u2019ve got a bit of a point, haven\u2019t they? We\u2019ve let this all happen.\u201d He pointed to the low youth wages and high rents (\u2018for a chicken coop\u2019).<\/p>\n

He urged everyone to take action, highlighting the right to protest, vote, and the minimum wage. \u201cWe didn\u2019t get these things by asking for them. Our ancestors fought hard for them, and sometimes even died for them, that\u2019s how important it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bingo card<\/h2>

Other speakers that afternoon included trade union leaders, but also a student with a \u2018bingo card\u2019 full of misfortunes (such as chronic illness and ADHD) who already knows she\u2019ll become a delayed student. And if any exceptions are made, she\u2019ll once again have to prove that she deserves them.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the crowd set off on a march through The Hague. Some dropped out, but the demonstrators still formed a long line. Many left-wing slogans could be heard, like \u2018the student struggle is a class struggle\u2019.<\/p>\n

The Dutch National Student Association (ISO) also joined the protest, even though this organisation (with its roots in student participation) is less inclined towards demonstrations. \u201cI\u2019m very pleased with the large turnout\u201d, said chair Mylou Mich\u00e9. The political slogans didn\u2019t bother her. After all, the ISO is politically neutral.<\/p>\n

Police blockade<\/h2>

Towards the end of the march, police vans blocked the way. The officers wanted the demonstrators to finish at a different field than the one they had started from. The students refused, wanting to return to their stage.<\/p>\n

The organisers felt their right to protest was being violated. \u201cThey already sent a few students away from the field earlier because it was supposedly too crowded\u201d, one organiser grumbled. \u201cThis is how things go under the Wilders government, apparently.\u201d<\/p>\n

But after some negotiation, the vans moved aside and the students were allowed to continue. What had happened? It appeared to be a case of miscommunication. \u201cThe group was stopped because they hadn\u2019t started at the agreed location\u201d, said a police spokesperson. \u201cAfter discussions with the mayor, it was decided that they could return to their starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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