'A solution for researchers at universities desperately needed'
A solution for researchers and PhD students at universities is badly needed, says AObdriver Douwe van der Zweep. According to him, researchers and PhD students often work on a project basis and there is now a lot of uncertainty as to whether they can complete their research. “Many researchers are in an uncertain situation because the research is delayed. This is also evident from the reports we receive. ”
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Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will debate the consequences of the corona crisis for education. To identify the problems that researchers and PhD students encounter, the AOb with the support of the FNV and WO in Actie. To date, just over a hundred responses have been received from various universities, mainly from PhD students and also from postdocs and supervisors.
Most often mentioned are the fear of researchers that the time frame will be blocked. Mentioned reasons: laboratories have been closed, cultures have to be re-released, interviews cannot be conducted and (international) conferences have been canceled. 'As a starting PhD candidate, there is an acute problem. I can't do archival research, conduct interviews or do fieldwork right now, 'one respondent wrote. Another reports: 'This period I will not be able to visit my (long-term) field experiments in Sweden, Ireland and England, so I will miss a series of data.'
This period I will not be able to visit my (long-term) field experiments in Sweden, Ireland and England, so I will miss a series of dates.
In a letter to Minister of Education Ingrid van Engelshoven (D66), the AOb to take two measures to accommodate the researchers. The one-time extension of the contract duration is the first measure. The legal extension of temporary contracts longer than four years is not permitted, the postdocs would be helped by this. That is why the unions and employers have already sent this before a letter.
In addition, the AOb for financial compensation. “If the contracts are renewed, the question is who will pay for it,” explains AObsector director Donald Pechler. According to him, universities themselves could also contribute to the solution. “The universities receive a substantial sum of money for each completed thesis. Part of that could go to an emergency fund. ”
Pechler and Van der Zweep point out the importance of the emergency fund to earmark for researchers who are now in trouble. A researcher alone is often not strong enough, which is why it is important to work together. Researchers and PhD students are also concerned about their career opportunities if they cannot complete their dissertation or are less able to complete their thesis. The chance of a postdoc position and the acquisition of grants is largely determined by your previous research, a supervisor responds in the survey.
AOb: Provide clarity about monitoring the reopening
On Wednesday from ten o'clock, the House of Representatives will debate the corona crisis with both education ministers, the first time since the cabinet announced the 'intelligent lockdown'. Primary schools and schools for special (primary) education are now making every effort to reopen their doors after the May holiday. It is up to schools - expressly in consultation with the participation councils - to give shape to this, an operation that in many places entails the necessary pedagogical and logistical issues.
'Looking ahead, we ask secondary education to prepare for a 1 meter school. And for the time being we assume that this is possible from XNUMX June ', said Prime Minister Rutte during the press conference last week. The AOb points out in a letter to the House of Representatives the short time between 11 May and the beginning of June. An important question is how the ministry wants to portray the experiences from primary education and how this will influence the course that the cabinet is taking. Moreover, the final RIVM report on the risk of infection in children and young people is still not on the table. 'The AOb would like to have more clarity about how monitoring will take place in the near future, on the basis of what knowledge further steps will be taken and what hard preconditions set by the Cabinet apply to the educational field. When it comes to hard preconditions, you can think of group size, distance and hygiene. '
Furthermore, the AOb This includes extra money for additional support in schools, such as more frequent use of cleaners or strengthening the janitors. Although the school closure has temporarily made the teacher shortage less visible, the workload has actually increased, partly due to the switch to distance learning and the run-up to the forthcoming reopening. Help schools and institutions overcome formation problems, said the AOb.
Read the letter here that the AOb to the House of Representatives.
Listen to AObchairman Eugenie Stolk at BNR.
