{"id":69625,"date":"2017-04-10T15:41:56","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T13:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/2017\/04\/10\/studentenorganisaties-basisbeursmiljoenen-komen-niet-naar-onderwijs\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:41","slug":"studentenorganisaties-basisbeursmiljoenen-komen-niet-naar-onderwijs-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/04\/10\/studentenorganisaties-basisbeursmiljoenen-komen-niet-naar-onderwijs-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Student organisations: \u201cStudent grant millions are not being invested in education\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The National Student Union and the Intercity Students\u2019 Organisation feel that they were deceived when student grants were abolished. They fear that the quality of education will suffer. \u201cA political usurious insurance policy is looming,\u201d they wrote in an incendiary letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cLecture rooms will continue to be packed to the rafters for the time being, we will drop in the top university rankings, and the millions we were promised after the abolition of student grants will not come to pass<\/a>,\u201d the student organisations predicted in their letter. According to their figures, students will not see the effects of the investments in education until 2021. Until that time, the education budget cuts almost equal the \u201cadditional\u201d cash injections.<\/p>\n

The two organisations based their predictions on data released by the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) and the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences. They show in graphs how much the government is spending annually per student. The number is shocking, particularly for university students. Per-student spending is presently \u20ac15,000 per year, down from \u20ac20,000 around the year 2000.<\/p>\n

Different view<\/h3>

That is, if the figures are correct. It is hard to verify, but Statistics Netherlands presents a different view.\u00a0According to Statistics Netherlands<\/a>, the Dutch universities have, for many years now, received approx \u20ac9,000 per student for teaching purposes, plus another \u20ac14,000 for scientific research purposes.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Education presents a similarly even view. Its spokesperson referred us to the National Budget, which states that universities and universities of applied sciences will receive approx \u20ac6,800 per student for education purposes, which figure will go up to some seven thousand euros in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Calculations are wrong<\/h3>

However, these calculations are wrong, says the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU). Just take inflation, for starters \u2013 what do you do when everything gets more expensive and wages keep going up? VSNU adjusts for such matters in its calculations.<\/p>\n

The Ministry does this too, VSNU explains, but in a way entirely its own: if the Ministry does not adjust its wages and prices for inflation, meaning it is actually reducing the budget, this cannot be gleaned from the official figures.<\/p>\n

Expensive degrees<\/h3>

Other costs are rising too. For instance, the number of students taking expensive degrees \u2013 e.g. STEM subjects \u2013 is growing. Small wonder that\u00a0VSNU has expressed its support<\/a>\u00a0for the students\u2019 incendiary letter.<\/p>\n

However, is the new student loan system really a \u201cusurious insurance policy\u201d, as the students fear? Last autumn the Lower House indeed complained a great deal about the Ministry of Education\u2019s budget, which the MPs said contained all sorts of hidden budget cuts.<\/p>\n

Students are afraid that \u201ctheir\u201d money will disappear, too. They are being forced to incur greater debts due to the new student loan system. This can only be justified if the quality of the degree programmes is actually improved. Which may require even more money than the sum gained through the abolition of student grants, considering all the price adjustments and budget cuts of the past.<\/p>\n

Cabinet formation<\/h3>

The new Cabinet being formed may turn things around, and the students know this too. This is why they wrote their letter during the Cabinet formation period, and this is why they are trying to keep up the pressure.<\/p>\n\n\t

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