The Dutch National Union of Students (LSVb) and the Dutch National Students Association (ISO) met with Deputy Education Minister Mark Rutte in the so-called ‘Studentenkamer’ (Students’ Parliament).
The debate was open to the public and part of the Dutch tradition of medezeggenschap, or participation in decision-making.
Government ministries are renowned as being big fans of interior design, and the Dutch ministries are no exception: the Ministry of Education’s cafeteria in Den Haag is much nicer than any TU Delft cafeteria and the landscape architecture of the Ministry’s cafeteria terrace is a work of art.
In these times of governmental budgetary cuts, students entering the Ministry of Education might feel like they’re penetrating into the heart of darkness, on a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines. Once everyone is seated with coffee and cookies in the Ministry’s meeting room, the student unions immediately intensify the war sensation. The LSVb board states somewhat provocatively that they’re dressed in black as a symbol of their desperation, resulting from Deputy Education Minister Rutte’s plans for higher education. The LSVb files a formal protest (their “backup” they call it), which consists of several dozen students who came along to follow the debate from the public gallery.
Most of the debate concentrated on financial questions. Raising tuition fees for non-EU students isn’t an option, argue the LSVb and ISO. They also reject the idea of compensating for these fee hikes with a scholarship system. The government’s plan to raise fees for Dutch students who study longer than six years is also met with fierce resistance. The student unions argue that it’s not proven that a slower student is more expensive. They also believe the Deputy Minister should have done more to limit governmental budget cuts in education, and they argue that since there are more freshmen students enrolled this year, the education budget should’ve been increased.
Deputy Minister Rutte, under a fierce attack from both sides of the table, returns fire: “It’s not necessarily the primary role of the Deputy Education Minister to get as much money as possible into the system!” Rutte says it’s bizarre that the unions are against higher fees for slower students and claims that there are more students only because they study longer. Moreover, according to Rutte, there are too many “wrong” students from outside the EU coming to the Netherlands; he wants these students to meet more quality demands before being allowed to study here. The unions counter-attack, demanding higher quality of education before more demands are presented to the students. ISO: “The foreign students already have to prove themselves before arrival! Otherwise, they’re not admitted to the university.”
While there were many more issues to be debated, the time with Secretary Rutte was limited. So, high visa costs weren’t discussed and the housing shortage is only briefly mentioned. The Dutch Parliament has already rejected many of the planned budgetary cuts, and, besides, no decisions are made in public debates like this one. Most of the policy-making is done behind closed doors and during private lunches.
Deputy Minister Rutte ends by saying that his plans are “definite”, promises that research money will stay in the educational system and guarantees that he won’t introduce new plans for at least two years. But who will guarantee that the Deputy Minister will still have his job in two years? After all, the previous Deputy Education Minister, Annette Nijs, didn’t even survive one year in the job.
Since this meeting with Deputy Minister Rutte, the national financial newspaper Het Finacieele Dagblad obtained a yet-to-be released proposal to Parliament, drafted by Rutte. In it, Rutte proposes that 100 million euro be reserved to attract more foreign students to Dutch universities and technology schools. Rutte wants to invest the 100 million in the Huygens Scholarship Programme (HSP), an equity scheme for international students; a range of smaller scholarships schemes will also be integrated into the HSP. Under Rutte’s plan, foreign students attracted through the HSP will only be eligible for a five-year residence permit in the Netherlands if they’re able to find a job in their field within three months of graduation.
Currently, the Dutch government actively recruits foreign students, mainly from China, Taiwan and Indonesia; but Rutte wants to expand this to countries including Brazil, Malaysia, India, Russia, Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand. Rutte also plans to attract more technology students, especially in research and development. He believes the influx of foreign technology students will benefit the Netherlands’ standing as a ‘science economy’, with the government arguing that a nation like the Netherlands, with its relatively high labor costs, can only distinguish itself internationally by specialising in the high end of science and technology.
Government ministries are renowned as being big fans of interior design, and the Dutch ministries are no exception: the Ministry of Education’s cafeteria in Den Haag is much nicer than any TU Delft cafeteria and the landscape architecture of the Ministry’s cafeteria terrace is a work of art.
In these times of governmental budgetary cuts, students entering the Ministry of Education might feel like they’re penetrating into the heart of darkness, on a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines. Once everyone is seated with coffee and cookies in the Ministry’s meeting room, the student unions immediately intensify the war sensation. The LSVb board states somewhat provocatively that they’re dressed in black as a symbol of their desperation, resulting from Deputy Education Minister Rutte’s plans for higher education. The LSVb files a formal protest (their “backup” they call it), which consists of several dozen students who came along to follow the debate from the public gallery.
Most of the debate concentrated on financial questions. Raising tuition fees for non-EU students isn’t an option, argue the LSVb and ISO. They also reject the idea of compensating for these fee hikes with a scholarship system. The government’s plan to raise fees for Dutch students who study longer than six years is also met with fierce resistance. The student unions argue that it’s not proven that a slower student is more expensive. They also believe the Deputy Minister should have done more to limit governmental budget cuts in education, and they argue that since there are more freshmen students enrolled this year, the education budget should’ve been increased.
Deputy Minister Rutte, under a fierce attack from both sides of the table, returns fire: “It’s not necessarily the primary role of the Deputy Education Minister to get as much money as possible into the system!” Rutte says it’s bizarre that the unions are against higher fees for slower students and claims that there are more students only because they study longer. Moreover, according to Rutte, there are too many “wrong” students from outside the EU coming to the Netherlands; he wants these students to meet more quality demands before being allowed to study here. The unions counter-attack, demanding higher quality of education before more demands are presented to the students. ISO: “The foreign students already have to prove themselves before arrival! Otherwise, they’re not admitted to the university.”
While there were many more issues to be debated, the time with Secretary Rutte was limited. So, high visa costs weren’t discussed and the housing shortage is only briefly mentioned. The Dutch Parliament has already rejected many of the planned budgetary cuts, and, besides, no decisions are made in public debates like this one. Most of the policy-making is done behind closed doors and during private lunches.
Deputy Minister Rutte ends by saying that his plans are “definite”, promises that research money will stay in the educational system and guarantees that he won’t introduce new plans for at least two years. But who will guarantee that the Deputy Minister will still have his job in two years? After all, the previous Deputy Education Minister, Annette Nijs, didn’t even survive one year in the job.
Since this meeting with Deputy Minister Rutte, the national financial newspaper Het Finacieele Dagblad obtained a yet-to-be released proposal to Parliament, drafted by Rutte. In it, Rutte proposes that 100 million euro be reserved to attract more foreign students to Dutch universities and technology schools. Rutte wants to invest the 100 million in the Huygens Scholarship Programme (HSP), an equity scheme for international students; a range of smaller scholarships schemes will also be integrated into the HSP. Under Rutte’s plan, foreign students attracted through the HSP will only be eligible for a five-year residence permit in the Netherlands if they’re able to find a job in their field within three months of graduation.
Currently, the Dutch government actively recruits foreign students, mainly from China, Taiwan and Indonesia; but Rutte wants to expand this to countries including Brazil, Malaysia, India, Russia, Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand. Rutte also plans to attract more technology students, especially in research and development. He believes the influx of foreign technology students will benefit the Netherlands’ standing as a ‘science economy’, with the government arguing that a nation like the Netherlands, with its relatively high labor costs, can only distinguish itself internationally by specialising in the high end of science and technology.
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