{"id":98654,"date":"2019-05-13T17:03:34","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T15:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=98654"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:19","slug":"mp-ozdil-puts-groenlinks-on-the-spot-cancel-the-student-loan-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/05\/13\/mp-ozdil-puts-groenlinks-on-the-spot-cancel-the-student-loan-system\/","title":{"rendered":"MP \u00d6zdil puts GroenLinks on the spot: cancel the student loan system"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zihni \u00d6zdil, Member of Parliament for GroenLinks, wants nothing to do with the \u201crotten\u201d student loan system that earned party leader Jesse Klaver a political majority in 2015. For the time being, it\u2019s not clear whether \u00d6zdil\u2019s colleagues share this position.<\/p>\n

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Zihni \u00d6zdil in 2015 (when he was doing a PhD at Erasmus University) after his book 'Nederland mijn Vaderland' was published<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u00d6zdil made his remarkable statements during an interview<\/a> with the daily Trouw<\/em> published last Saturday. In it, the higher education spokesperson for GroenLinks\u2019s members in the Dutch House of Representatives criticised the \u201cbroken promises\u201d of the previous and present coalition government.<\/p>\n

According to \u00d6zdil, GroenLinks supported the cancellation<\/a> of the basic student grant in 2015 on the condition that there would be a decent supplemental grant, that tuition fees and interest on student loans would be kept low and that the many millions of euros in savings would be ploughed back into better education. Very little has come of these plans, in the MP\u2019s view. The only thing standing in the way of an interest hike<\/a> on loans for new students is the Dutch Senate. And so far, the previously promised \u2018pre-investments\u2019 in better education have failed to materialise.<\/p>\n

Alternative<\/h2>

\u00d6zdil doesn\u2019t offer a concrete alternative to the \u201cantisocial\u201d loan system. But then he embraces the principle that education is a right \u2013 not something you can only enjoy after taking on debt. He is somewhat sympathetic to a proposal made by GroenLinks\u2019s youth organisation Dwars, which allots students \u2018a reasonable monthly amount\u201d combined with zero tuition fees. They would be expected to pay back the costs later on according to their means via regular taxation.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing\u2019s for sure,\u201d \u00d6zdil says in Trouw<\/em>, \u201ca loan system undermines everything that democracy and civilisation stand for.\u201d He claims that we can already observe stagnation in senior secondary vocational education (mbo) and senior general secondary education (havo) students\u2019 progression to higher professional education (hbo). While \u00d6zdil attributes this to a growing fear of debt, there are other factors at play too, according to research<\/a> performed last year. The lower marks earned by havo students, for example; or improved career opportunities for mbo graduates.<\/p>\n

The MP is considering submitting a motion this week in which he calls on fellow representatives to cancel the loan system: \u201cIt might make it through \u2013 you never know.\u201d<\/p>\n

A GroenLinks spokesperson declined to say whether the party was taken unawares by \u00d6zdil\u2019s statements. \u201cIn response to a motion<\/a> submitted by Dwars, it was decided during a party conference that we need to present alternatives to the current loan system. We\u2019re putting a lot of work into this and expect to have a proposal ready before the summer. I have nothing to add for the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tax for academics<\/h2>

\u00d6zdil\u2019s interview was enthusiastically received by local Dwars chapters on various social media sites. Compared to other youth organisations, including CJDA<\/a>, Dwars has always been quite cautious when it came to rejecting the loan system. For years, GroenLinks has been calling for the introduction of a \u2018tax for academics\u2019. In this arrangement, students receive a base income (regardless of their parents\u2019 income) rather than a grant \u2013 which would have to be repaid. The costs of this system would be covered by requiring academics to surrender a percentage of their income to the government coffers.<\/p>\n

Former Dutch Student Union (LSVb) Chair and influential GroenLinks party member Maarten van Poelgeest saw the new loan system and the support expressed by party leader Jesse Klaver as an important step in the right direction. Because in this system too, former students would be expected to repay the loan according to their means. \u201cWe\u2019re getting close to the ideal,\u201d said Van Poelgeest in a 2014 interview<\/a> with HOP. For the moment, it remains unclear whether GroenLinks\u2019s alternative to the current loan system will be markedly different to the aforementioned tax for academics.<\/p>\n\n\t

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