‘No ifs, no buts, no education cuts’
On Friday 14th December, researchers and lecturers from the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development attended the WOinActie demonstration in the Hague to protest against budget cuts to Dutch universities. Almost 2000 students, lecturers, and professors attended the demonstration.
The number of students at Dutch universities has risen by 68% since 2000, while government funding per student has decreased by 25%. According to WOinActie, the platform of researchers and students that aims to reverse the underfunding of Dutch universities, more than 70% of teaching and academic staff at Utrecht University say that their work load is too heavy or excessive.
Not enough hours available for teaching
“The current system asks lecturers to teach more than their allocated teaching time, requiring teachers to work in their free time or to significantly cut their research hours, ” says junior lecturer and recent Utrecht University graduate Jip Leendertse.
‘No ifs, no buts, no education cuts’
WOinActie demands that the government invest 1.15 billion euros in higher education, and that it rescinds the two recently announced budget cuts (the so-called ‘doelmatigheidskorting’ of 183 million and the lump-sum cut of 19 million announced on Budget Day 2018).
“The recently announced budget cuts will only increase existing problems,” explains Leendertse. “It will reduce the ability of universities to ensure sustainable and high quality education, which is necessary to ensure a better future for our society and upcoming generations. It’s no surprise that the Utrecht University Executive Board supported the demonstration. We are asking for sufficient teaching time and funding to ensure quality education for future generations.”
