"Cut after cut, and what will our minister do?"
More than a thousand teachers, researchers and students came to The Hague to protest against the 'demolition' of higher education and research. "The next step is a strike!"
Image: FNV
Groningen, Maastricht, Utrecht: protesters from all over the country come in buses and trains to the Koekamp, opposite The Hague Central Station. The atmosphere is delighted, everyone is happy with the turnout.
The protesters wear red squares on their coats and often red scarves and hats. They carry protest signs with, for example, “I'm not a flop pro” and “Less interest, more teachers”.
WOinAction
Driver of the demonstration is Rens Bod, professor at the University of Amsterdam. He launched the protest movement WOinA Actie. “We are now a national movement”, he exclaims in his opening speech. "People can no longer ignore us!"
Would Minister of Education Van Engelshoven hear the screaming and singing of the protesters? Bod wanted to symbolically hand her a large red square, but she shines in absence. “Cutbacks after cutbacks, and what is our minister doing? She doesn't even come out to receive the red square, while she's a hundred meters away! ”
The power of education lies in teachers who believe in students and have time for them
“Booh!” His audience shout. Then co-organizer Geertje Hulzebos comes forward, who recently resigned as chairman of the National Student Union. She talks about how she climbed from VMBO to university. This was thanks to teachers who believed in her and had the time for her, she thinks, and she fears that the cutbacks will make it less and less possible. The audience eat from her hand.
Marijtje Jongsma of the VAWO science union also addresses the crowd. The government has not listened to the criticism before, she emphasizes. Now the economy is doing well again and higher education is still in the red. The protesters are just as fed up as they are.
No privilege
Then they start a march through the city. They run past the Hofvijver and the Ministry of Education. They chant well-known slogans such as “Education is a right, not a privilege” and “What time is it? Solidari time! ”
The stakes are high: they want the cutbacks to higher education to be dropped and, indeed, that the cabinet will allocate an extra billion euros for it. The willingness to take action is great. “The next step is a strike”, says professor Josef Früchtl from Amsterdam.
“I have the feeling that there will be a change,” says Maastricht professor Renée van de Vall hopefully. “There is not enough money, but that is not the only thing. Bureaucracy and accountability have gone too far. We must again focus more on good education and good science and compete less with each other. My young colleagues in particular are completely over the moon. ”
It is increasingly difficult to get in touch with teachers
The FNV supports WO in Actie with their demonstration and call to end cutbacks in higher education. (Image: FNV Research & Education).
There are also many students, such as communication scientist Iris from Utrecht. She notices teachers that the situation is getting worse. “It is more difficult to get in touch with them. Everyone has to do more and more. The study associations are also receiving less and less money. I hope that something will finally happen. ”
Dansen
Back at the Koekamp, musician Benjamin Fro enters the stage. He sings protest songs in English, also about diversity and color in higher education. His hip-hop sounds good, the attendees even start to dance.
Bid thanks everyone present and is delighted with the solidarity. This day will go down in history, he said earlier. The first protesters are returning home, the buses are waiting.
Will there indeed be a strike if the minister ignores the demands of the protest movement? Afterwards, Rens Bod does not want to say much about it. “It's possible, I don't know yet,” he says. “We will have another meeting in January. Then we'll talk about it. ”
Also read: 'Universities protest against cuts'
