Update Executive Board: Current status of the government cuts
The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.
The planned cuts to education and the lack of clarity about the introduction of the Balanced Internationalisation Act (WiB) have caused our sector great uncertainty. In this blog, our colleagues from public affairs give an update on what is happening in the seat of government in The Hague.
Conversations with students and staff show that the continuing lack of clarity is frustrating to a lot of people and is causing great uncertainty – a feeling the Executive Board shares. What exactly will be the extent of the cuts? What will be the effects of the WiB? What parts of our university will be hit hardest? And how will this affect jobs?
Our community is still awaiting clarity. With talks in the House of Representatives and Senate ongoing, our focus in this blog today is on the current status of the planned cuts to higher education.
Letter from Minister Bruins
On Friday 7 February, Minister Bruins (Education, Culture and Science, OCW) informed the House of Representatives about an amendment by MP Bontebal (CDA). This concerns the position of the regions in the WiB bill. Bontebal urges retaining the intake of international students in the regions experiencing population decline. These include Zeeland, Limburg, Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe.
In his letter, the minister indicates that he sees a solution in institutional self-governance. This would entail the universities drawing up their own plans to regulate the intake of international students. From our talks with MPs, it is clear that everyone is pushing for a proposal from the sector and that internationalisation is deemed to have gone too far.
Evaluation of degree programmes
Being able to self-govern could help us stay in control and avoid being subjected to a lengthy and uncertain process. This process would subject all our English-taught bachelor’s programmes to an evaluation based on very stringent criteria: the Toets Anderstalig Onderwijs TAO), an evaluation that allows educational institutions to teach a course or degree programme in a language other than Dutch.
Without self-governance, all our English-taught degree programmes risk failing this evaluation, which would cause even more pain. We are now consulting our fellow universities within the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL). The result of this self-governance process is not yet certain. It is crucial that all universities make a proportional contribution to this process of self-governance and, in the event of an agreement, that we have the assurance of the minister that our degree programmes will not have to undergo the evaluation after all.
In his letter from 7 February, the minister indicated that he did not wish to scrap the TAO. Instead, he wishes to incorporate the regional circumstances of universities in the act via a separate article. This would state what requirements a degree programme taught in a language other than Dutch would have to meet to qualify for a regional criteria. The minister expects to finalise the memorandum on this amendment this spring.
Senate discusses plans
The Senate Committee for Education, Culture and Science held an expert meeting on 18 February in which they discussed Bontenbal’s amendment and whether the planned cuts are lawful and feasible.
UNL chair Caspar van den Berg urged caution regarding the cuts. Bontenbal’s proposal to spare the universities in the regions experiencing population decline would also make it very unclear who ultimately would pay for the cuts. Other experts called the planned cuts visionless and highlighted the concern that has arisen among staff. The question was also asked as to whether cancelling an administrative agreement was lawful.
The committee wishes to discuss and vote on the legislative bill on 25 March 2025.
OCW policy letter
With the discussions on the education budget taking longer than expected, the process surrounding the OCW policy letter has since been delayed. Talks are currently being held between the minister and civil servants about the contents of the letter. The minister is not expected to publish the letter until March.
Staggered strike
As you have probably heard, a staggered strike will be held at the Dutch universities this month. Leiden is first, on 10 March. For more information on the organisation and protests on the day, see here.
There is still no prospect of greater clarity from the government in the short term. Our message to the government remains clear: the planned cuts and the plans to limit internationalisation are harmful not only to our education but also to our society.
The Executive Board, the deans, our directors and numerous other staff will continue to oppose the planned cuts. We hope you will join us.