'Humor helps in a debate and in the classroom'
Born Groninger Frank Futselaar (SP) and his Frisian colleague Harry van der Molen (CDA) have one door in the House of Representatives. They share an aversion to the loan system and the internationalization in higher education that has gone wrong.
Picture: Fred van Diem
Once upon a time there were two northerners, one born in Friesland and the other in Groningen, who got the same job in The Hague on March 23, 2017. The brand new MPs Harry van der Molen (CDA) and Frank Futselaar (SP) soon found each other. As contemporaries - they are nine months apart in age - with mainly regional political experience, they were both new to the House of Representatives. They became spokespersons on higher education for their parties. Their shared aversion to the feudal system created a political bond. Even though there is one essential difference: Futselaar is on the opposition benches and Van der Molen represents a government party. The current coalition of VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie was divided and agreed in the coalition agreement to leave the loan system alone. A majority has now formed against it.
Futselaar: “The introduction of the loan system was a politically charged choice. More money had to be spent on higher education, so the scholarship is always a tempting cash to grab. The strange thing is: everyone is now concerned about the consequences, but that students would borrow more was already the expectation at the time. ”
Frank Futselaar (Groningen, 1979) taught at Saxion Hogeschool and was a member of the Provincial Council in Overijssel and the municipal council in Zwolle. Picture: Fred van Diem
As a university lecturer at Saxion's previous job, Futselaar saw the impact of the loan system up close. “Discussions with students were not only about better planning and getting points, but also about the financial consequences. Students came under increasing pressure. Eighteen and nineteen year olds, I find that really inhumane. ”
You went together. Yet there was also an important difference: the CDA wanted to increase the interest on student loans, the SP was vehemently against it.
Van der Molen: “Yes, that's a difference between us. I am also willing to take less popular measures. You will not see that easily at SP, they prefer to hand them out. Due to the extremely low interest rates, students can borrow almost for free and we saw that that money was also used consumptively, for example for a trip. All of that has to be paid back and there were concerns about that. The higher interest was intended to discourage young people from borrowing as much as possible. "
I am also prepared to take less popular measures. You will not see that very often at SP, they prefer to share
Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven's bill achieved a narrow majority in the Lower House, but ran aground in the Senate last year. For Futselaar that was one of the most beautiful political moments, he says. “I argued against it in the House of Representatives for forty minutes at the time, my longest speech as a Member of Parliament. In the end, it was killed in the Senate, and I heard my arguments from various parties. Fortunately, because the interest rate hike would have made students even worse off. ”
Harnesses
In the debate on the education budget in mid-October, a motion by Futselaar was passed together with the PvdA to investigate the possibilities for compensating students who fall under the loan system. With the support of a large majority, including the CDA.
Futselaar modest: “Well, I submitted the same motion about a year ago and then I received almost no support at all, not even from GroenLinks and the PvdA. It is an important subject for us, we are one of the few parties that has always been against the loan system. The financial consequences will be borne by the next cabinet, which will also make it a little easier for coalition parties to break the front. It also helps that elections are coming. Politicians prefer not to antagonize groups, that pressure just counts. And it's just an investigation, so it's a first step. But a first step of some importance, because it sends out a signal: it is negotiable. And there will soon be a report ready for the next cabinet that they can get started with immediately. ”
The financial consequences will be borne by the next cabinet, which also makes it a little easier for coalition parties to break the front
In addition to the return of the basic grant, the sp also wants more permanent positions in higher education. Flex contracts are commonplace, especially at universities that, in addition to student funding, also run on uncertain research budgets. Futselaar: “When I was hired at Saxion University of Applied Sciences, I just got a permanent contract after a year. This is not so obvious at universities. Flex has become somewhat the norm there, with some clearly more than others. I like to criticize the minister, but I really think that universities are wrong. They could do more and they fail to do so. You can set conditions for funding, such as a percentage by which the share of flex contracts decreases annually. Then steps are taken in any case. I want to see progress and at the moment I just don't see it. ”
Will the CDA agree to stricter agreements?
Van der Molen: “We will have to do something about the flex contracts at universities. We can contribute to this by making budgets in higher education more predictable. But it will also have to come from universities themselves. Because apparently they make very different choices in terms of personnel policy. Then we can regulate until we weigh one ounce, but in the end it is a board that says: I will appoint more people. That is why I am not very fond of the generic measures advocated by the sp, one hard number for everyone. I prefer to give institutions a little more space, because from The Hague it is difficult for me to assess what it should be like at a specific institution or faculty.
Manufacturing
A hefty series Parliamentary questions said Van der Molen about the recruitment of international students, about which Education magazine published regularly in recent years. For example, students from Asia, among others, pay 17 euros very expensive switching years by commercial agencies, in the hope that they reach the required level to be admitted to a Dutch university. Van Engelshoven responded critically.
Harry van der Molen (Kootstertille, 1980) was formerly alderman in Leeuwarden and head of marketing & communication at Roc Friese Poort. Picture: Fred van Diem
Van der Molen: “I share the opinion with Frank that universities have increasingly come to understand themselves as companies and think: this is an interesting market. An industry has emerged with the aim of bringing as many young people from abroad to the Netherlands as possible to allow the institution to grow. An international rat race with 'mass is cash register' as a starting point. The bad thing about those transition years is that they further increase this earnings model. We let young people from abroad who do not have a VWO level come here for a transition year offered by commercial companies. Moreover, that construction is beyond the reach of the Education Inspectorate. It is no longer about the student himself, but about the bag of money he takes with him. These are American situations and we should not want them in the Netherlands. We have to select much more precisely which students can come to the Netherlands. "
It is no longer about the student himself, but about the bag of money he takes with him. These are American conditions and we should not want them in the Netherlands
What also connects both MPs is a sense of perspective and humor. Futselaar: “Humor is very helpful in a debate as well as in class. When people expect to laugh at you, they listen to you better. You keep students engaged and you make the lesson more attractive. It creates sympathy and that is useful. If you can laugh at someone, you can never completely dislike him. ” Futselaar taught students 'politics and humor', as he once joked. “A difference with politics is that at school you know what you have achieved at the end of the day. If a student suddenly understands something, you have won. ”
Van der Molen: “Humor helps to put things into perspective when things get a bit too serious. Sometimes I sometimes think: people, children, we don't all have to drag ourselves through the mud with each other. Humor can make us laugh at ourselves for a moment. That's just how I am. Frank too, he always teases me with Frisian. ”
Media strategy
Chances are that in March, after four years in The Hague, the roads will part again. Where Van der Molen is in a prime ninth place on the CDA draft candidate list, Futselaar is at number nineteen at the SP. Just as sweetly, he would go back to teaching at Saxion next year, where he remained employed. The party asked him explicitly for the list. But not too high, Futselaar insisted. “As a Member of Parliament you have to sell yourself a bit and I'm just not that good at that. Harry can do that better. I quite enjoy debates, but coming up with a media strategy or peddling an idea is not quite my thing. ”
Can't you just be a good Member of Parliament without those side issues?
“Of course you can, but ultimately voters also need to know what you have done on behalf of your party. Then you sometimes wonder: am I doing enough for our club? I have never been approached about this internally, but you will look at yourself a bit. The SP is not known to many people as the party that is against the loan system, while we always have been. There is also a kind of self-judgment in it: I may not have been able to put that on the map enough. If you are part of a somewhat larger group, I feel less pressure, hence the nineteenth place. ”
The SP is not known to many people as the party that is against the loan system, while we always have been
Van der Molen: “I would be very sorry if Frank did not return to the House of Representatives. Maybe we can all make sure he stays. Anyone who cares about education and is considering voting for the SP can of course cast a preferential vote for Frank Futselaar. ” Laughing: "Then I have both Frank back and the SP has remained small, what more do I want?"
This article appeared in the December issue of the Onderwijsblad, which is received eleven times a year by AObmembers. read more about the trade magazine for education staff.
