Extra millions for safety in higher education

“A researcher who leaves academia with a heavy heart because he doesn’t feel safe. A student who doesn’t dare to ask questions during a lecture because of the lecturer's behaviour. Cases like this really distress me”, writes Dijkgraaf in a letter to Parliament.

He says that hard work will be needed to improve safety from inappropriate or abusive behaviours in the country's universities and universities of applied sciences. The problems that need to be tackled include power imbalance, competition and sexism.

Duty of care
Many things are up to the educational institutions themselves to change, but Dijkgraaf is prepared to amend laws and rules. For example, he would like to enshrine the principle of duty of care when it comes to social safety in the Higher Education and Research Act, which would make it easier to hold institutions accountable.

If it were up to Dijkgraaf, rules will also be stricter. The executive board would have to report to the Inspectorate of Education whenever a student or member of staff was suspected of sexual abuse or harassment. Currently, the requirement to report only applies if the student is a minor, as minors are assumed to need more protection. “But a relationship of dependency always exists in education, whether or not the student is a minor,” argues  Dijkgraaf. “That’s why we should extend the rules to all students, regardless of age.”

He would also like to do away with the duty of silence. “Unfortunately, sometimes agreements are made that force victims not to disclose incidents,” Dijkgraaf asserts. “I consider that particularly undesirable.” He wants to make sure it no longer occurs.

Not easy
Dijkgraaf stresses that creating a work and study environment safe from inappropriate and abusive behaviour “isn’t easy, given the special nature of education and academia, which are centred on learning, development and an open debate, and where there will always be relationships based on dependency.”

Nevertheless, he is going to try to get universities to make some changes. A budget for research, monitoring and cultural change had already been announced: 4 million euros per year until 2031.

He's also allocated an additional 4 million to be distributed over the next four years to a programme that aims to bring about change in the structure and culture of higher education institutions. This would affect students and employees alike.

Commenting on whether institutions should be allowed to dismiss a lecturer for being troublesome or critical, Dijkgraaf says that one of the aims of the programme is to make “the position of staff in relation to free speech and academic freedom” a topic for discussion. Dijkgraaf is also considering establishing training courses for managers and levelling off the hierarchical structures.

Reporting
Last but not least, the minister believes that procedures should be improved. “Complaints do not always lead to a solution”, Dijkgraaf writes. “That is why people don't always report problems.” In his opinion, structural problems are often dismissed as "incidents."

The minister would like to investigate whether there needs to be an independent reporting centre to which students and staff could turn for support and advice on social safety matters.