{"id":687,"date":"2017-02-08T11:44:59","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T10:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=65843\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:05","slug":"ga-kabinet-zitten-wetenschap-uitverkoop-zet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/02\/08\/ga-kabinet-zitten-wetenschap-uitverkoop-zet\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I will not join a cabinet that will sell off science cheaply’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The job is nearly done. Jet Bussemaker, who represents the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), has been the Minister for Education, Culture and Science for the last 4.5 years. And now the elections are on their way. \u201cIt has not quite sunk in yet, since I am still right in the thick of it. I thought things would quiet down a bit, but they really haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proud of new student loans<\/h3>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018It is the most significant reform in student funding in the last thirty years\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The main question is what will happen to her policies after the elections. What course will her successor pursue, particularly with regard to the student loans with favourable interest rates introduced by Bussemaker? Students no longer receive grants, meaning that the government now has hundreds of millions of euros at its disposal which it can inject into the higher education system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the most significant reform in student funding in the last thirty years,\u201d Bussemaker proudly announces. Many previous attempts to reform the system (for instance the fine for universities whose students do not graduate fast enough introduced by her predecessor, Halbe Zijlstra) had failed. Bussemaker received a phone call from VVD veteran Arie Pais, who was the Minister for Education forty years ago. \u201cHe wanted to do something like this at the time, but had been unsuccessful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abolishing student loans<\/h3>

Some parties, such as CDA and SP, wish to reintroduce student grants after the elections. Bussemaker is highly dismissive of the idea. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine that CDA will actually go through with that. It means all investments must be repealed, or that the public transport card for students will no longer be guaranteed. As for SP, they always talk big, but four years ago this party wanted to cut the education budget by eight hundred million euros. That doesn\u2019t strike me as a great idea either.\u201d<\/p>\n

She does not think it is likely to happen. \u201cI can\u2019t look into a crystal ball, but we have four parties supporting us.\u201d After all, student loans with a favourable interest rate were the brainchild of two government parties, VVD and PvdA, plus two opposition parties, D66 and GroenLinks. \u201cAt least two of these parties will probably be in the next cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rough edges<\/h3>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018I probably deserve some criticism for putting disabled students and adolescents whose parents never attended university at a disadvantage\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

She swears she is not blind to the rough edges of the system. \u201cI probably deserve some criticism for putting disabled students and adolescents whose parents never attended university at a disadvantage. Next year more adolescents will go to university, which is a good thing, but we will keep an eye on these groups of students to make sure they are OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therefore, she does not expect old-style student grants to make a comeback after 15 March. So what is at stake for higher education? \u201cThe main decision will be whether the cabinet will want to invest in education or not. Will they abolish the public transport card for students? Will another fine be introduced for universities whose students do not graduate fast enough? I have not yet heard anything about tuition fees being raised, but I\u2019m not ruling out that there are parties who want to do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protecting minor degree courses<\/h3>

Another question that deserves some attention: how do the various parties view higher education? \u201cThere are parties that mainly consider degrees stepping stones to the job market. CDA and VVD want to assess whether degrees actually prepare students for a career, and they wish to reallocate funds to universities of technology, because this will benefit the economy. But other degree courses, such as less popular language degrees, must also be protected. I do think that departments offering less popular degrees must collaborate more often, because it is obviously quite strange to have a department that only has three students run by a full professor and two lecturers, while other lecturers face lecture theatres filled to the rafters. But we do need those small departments. Take Arabic, for instance. It has never been a popular degree, but now we do need people who speak the language of the Middle East. Or take the Ebola outbreak in Africa \u2013 we need anthropologists who understand how to stop diseases from spreading in that part of the world. I do love it when Delft University of Technology students come up with yet another brilliant invention, but higher education should not just be about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Performance agreements<\/h3>

Another thing that is at stake: the way in which universities and universities of applied sciences will get their funding from now on. Will they have to meet set quality targets? Will they lose funding if they fall short of these targets? This is what has happened in the last few years due to the \u201cperformance agreements\u201d. Six universities of applied sciences lost some of their funding because their number of graduates proved insufficient (although Bussemaker did halve their \u201cfines\u201d).<\/p>\n

The next steps will be determined by the next cabinet. \u201cIt may be better to give universities a financial incentive rather than threatening them with fines,\u201d says Bussemaker. Even so, she defends the performance agreements, which she insists have good aspects. They also deal with the \u201cprofile\u201d of education institutions. \u201cFor instance, we do not want all universities to focus exclusively on excellent students. We must reward universities who choose not to do so. Maybe this should be up to them, though. We did rather impose the system on them the last time around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will she be the minister again?<\/h3>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018I will not join a cabinet that will sell off science cheaply\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Does she seek to be the Minister for Education in the next cabinet? \u201cI think that is quite unlikely. One needs to be realistic about such matters,\u201d she says, referring to PvdA\u2019s current polling figures. \u201cIt also depends on the coalition agreement we will end up with. I will not join a cabinet that will sell off science cheaply and assign it to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, would that ever happen if her own party were to become a government party? \u201cNo, it wouldn\u2019t. But even so, I\u2019m not terribly keen on the idea after these four great years, even if I won\u2019t say no just yet. Sometimes new people are required. I have been a member of cabinet for seven years now, and I\u2019m all in favour of diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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