‘The education sector is starting to get back on its feet’

Rianne Letschert has been the Minister of Education of the Netherlands for five weeks, representing the centre-left party D66, which has won the elections and formed a minority cabinet with CDA and VVD. She has actually helped to form this coalition, as the informateur who steered the negotiations in the right direction.

An additional 1.5 billion euros are set to be allocated to her ministry. “That’s good news,” she says while attending the Teacher of the Year award in Utrecht. “This will allow us to reverse a large part of the budget cuts and also make new investments.”

She is, therefore, a minister with money (her own words), although she still has to negotiate how to spend it. Since the coalition does not have a majority, whatever her plans may be, it is by no means certain that she will receive the support of the House of Representatives and, subsequently, the Senate.

A minister with money. Is that a relief?
“Absolutely! When you look at what the budget cuts have done to education and research… I’m seeing a lot of enthusiasm in vocational, higher vocational and university education to work together on how we can spend that money wisely.”

She says she wants to bring stability and calm to the sector. “There have been many changes over the past few terms, which have constantly brought new developments in terms of policy and strategy. You never know how long I’ll stay in office, of course, but I hope to stay for four years. That’s what we’re aiming for.”

Student stress is a major issue in Dutch higher education. What can politicians do to reduce it?
“We’re going to increase the basic grant for students who do not live with their parents, so that should provide some relief. Financial stress isn’t good for anyone's mental health." 

But that's just about 40 additional euros a month, isn’t it?
“Yes, but for students, that’s actually quite a substantial amount.”

What else can be done?
“It’s also important that universities continue to invest in all sorts of programmes related to students' mental health, which has been under pressure due to the budget cuts. After all, the funds available inevitably go to teaching and research first. The additional funding this government is allocating to education gives the sector a little more breathing space to maintain programmes on social safety and mental health.”

First-year students often get stressed by the binding study advice (BSA), the minimum number of credits they must earn to be allowed into the second year. Recent studies have cast serious doubts on the usefulness of the BSA. Will you be amending the rules?
“Ultimately, it is up to educational institutions themselves to see what they can do to promote academic success, but I will read the research carefully, asking myself what exactly the BSA does, and whether this research calls for a new round of discussions within the sector.”

But this study didn’t come out of the blue, and your predecessors were already keen on changing things. Isn’t it on your agenda?
“This subject isn’t in the coalition agreement, so if I were to do anything about it, that would require talks with the coalition and the House of Representatives. However, I’m curious to see how the sector regards such a study. Is the BSA the right way to advise students and help them flourish? That responsibility lies with them. It’s not just down to politics.”

How was that decision weighed up at Maastricht University when you were its president?
“It varied by degree programme and subject area, and sometimes also by the dean who had ultimate responsibility. But I’m no longer there.”

Universities and universities of applied sciences are having to tighten their belts not only because of the measures taken by the previous government, but also because of a decline in student numbers. In addition, fewer international students are coming to the Netherlands. The new government aims to allow universities a wider scope to offer English-taught courses. Do you intend to attract international students to the Netherlands once more?
“Attracting them to the Netherlands sounds so instrumental, but this government certainly wants to look into a ‘targeted talent strategy’. We want to set out a positive agenda whilst also addressing the challenges faced by universities and universities of applied sciences in certain cities. The institutions would like to take the lead themselves. I will be discussing this with them.”

If you rely on ‘self-governance’ in higher education, what is the role of politics then? What course are you setting as minister?
“I can’t share that yet, but I’m happy to place my trust in the institutions. For years, they’ve been asking politicians to take certain measures to steer internationalisation in the right direction. For example, they wanted the ability to impose a cap (numerus clausus) on enrolment in English-taught programmes. That option is now enshrined in law, so they can start using that lever right away.”

Surely trust can’t solve everything? Take the workload of lecturers and researchers, for example. If administrators could solve that, wouldn’t they have done so already?
“When it comes to workload, you mustn’t gloss over the effects of the budget cuts. Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has certainly had a significant impact on those institutions. I think they’ve come through it very well. Now we’re hopefully entering a more stable time, with four years of a stable government that wants to inject additional funding into that sector to bring some calm and stability. This also reflects an aim of doing something about that workload.”

D66 wanted to allocate a lot more money to education, didn’t it?
“Always!”

Is 1.5 billion enough to tackle all the problems?
“We must be realistic. When you look at the challenges facing this country and what we’re asking of healthcare and social security, for example, I’m simply pleased that we’ve secured 1.5 billion for education. That’s a very positive signal. Yes, you could say it’s not enough, but look at society as a whole, look at the reforms in healthcare and social security. If you do, then I think we can all be very satisfied with education.”