WOinactie gives the minister an ultimatum
Action group WOinactie has issued education minister Ingrid van Engelshoven with an ultimatum: the efficiency discount must be discontinued by Prinsjesdag at the latest, otherwise actions will follow. Students reinforce the ultimatum with events and playful actions.
Picture: National government
UvA professor Rens Bod of WOinactie had previously announced the ultimatum, but it is now official with an e-mail and a registered letter to the minister. The so-called efficiency discount of 183 million euros must be scrapped and the government must make structural investments in academic education. Bod talks about an amount of at least 1,15 billion euros extra per year.
National action week
If the demands are not met on Budget Day, Tuesday 18 September, national actions by lecturers and researchers will follow in the following week, warns Bod. He is supported by action group Rethink and the trade unions, among others FNV and VAWO.
Bod: “Since 2000, the amount that central government makes available per student has fallen by a quarter to 15 thousand euros, while student numbers have almost doubled. There are allowed, but there really cannot be any further cutbacks in scientific education. University employees with normal teaching duties are already no longer able to perform essential teaching tasks. ”
"We are allowed, but really cannot, make any further cuts in academic education," says professor Rens Bod of the University of Amsterdam.
Support from students
Student organizations LSVb and ISO have also signed the letter. This week there are already actions taking place in various student cities. The action week kicks off tonight with the Night of Protest in Amsterdam. In Nijmegen, members of the local student union, among others, will discuss the planned cutbacks during an 'open meeting' and in Wageningen they hand out stress balls to ease the stress of the high workload and cutbacks.
A petition of students in Utrecht against the cutbacks at the Faculty of Humanities have now been signed almost a thousand times and in Groningen a playful campaign took place earlier.
Bid is pleased with the support of the students. “Actions are taking place at five universities. That may not seem like a lot, but for the Netherlands it is quite an achievement. ” If the action week continues in September, all universities will participate, he hopes. The Ministry of Education was not yet available for comment.
