{"id":181728,"date":"2025-09-22T17:05:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T15:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=181728"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:55","slug":"cabinet-may-for-now-continue-with-education-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/09\/22\/cabinet-may-for-now-continue-with-education-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet may for now continue with education cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuts to education and research? Put a hold on them now that the elections are approaching, said a large part of the House of Representatives. But the proposal was rejected.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSonja Schravesande<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cThere appears to be a majority again for scrapping education cuts\u201d, said D66 leader Rob Jetten on Thursday to prime minister Dick Schoof during day two of the general political debate.<\/p>\n

Jetten was referring to the election on Wednesday 29 October. The new House of Representatives may adopt a different course on education and research. For that reason the cabinet should not take any \u2018irreversible steps\u2019, he said, until the House of Representatives has discussed the OCW budget.<\/p>\n

Because things are already going wrong, Jetten fears. He mentioned cancer research that is being \u2018scaled back\u2019 and courses in the \u2018region\u2019 that are in danger of disappearing. According to him, cuts to education and innovation put the \u2018earning capacity\u2019 of Dutch industry under pressure.<\/p>\n

Irreversible steps<\/h2>

Schoof kept his distance. After all, he does not control the planning of the House of Representatives, so he did not know when the budget would be discussed. In the end Jetten, together with Joost Eerdmans (JA21), submitted a motion asking the government not to take any \u2018irreversible steps\u2019. In other words: the ministry should not pre-empt a budget that might still be changed.<\/p>\n

This motion was backed by a large number of parties: SP, GroenLinks-PvdA, PvdD, Denk, Volt, D66, NSC, ChristenUnie, JA21 and FvD. But together they do not have a majority. The motion was narrowly defeated by governing parties VVD and BBB with support from PVV, SGP and CDA.<\/p>\n

The opposition keeps trying. GroenLinks-PvdA has already submitted an amendment to the OCW budget that would reverse the cuts. As the House of Representatives stands now, that amendment has no chance, but after the election it might \u2013 and only then will it be voted on.<\/p>\n

Another motion on Thursday evening that affected students and higher education was about housing benefit. The proposal was that you should also be eligible for it for student housing. This also failed. Students can usually already claim housing benefit for independent accommodation.<\/p>\n\n\t

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