Five years after the pandemic, how prepared are we for another one?

It's been five years since Covid-19 reached the Netherlands, causing a series of lockdowns, online exams, student protests, and 500 million euros spent on self-test kits. 

We invite you to remember that time by looking back on five themes: the run-up to the pandemic, the protests against surveillance software, the arrival of free self-tests, students' mental health, and the tug-of-war surrounding the binding study advice. Then, we will try to answer a fundamental question: how prepared are we for another pandemic?

Sleepwalking into the pandemic

It's easy for us to say this in hindsight, but the Dutch higher education sector did not react quickly enough to the virus. Sometimes, it even seemed as though they refused to prepare for it.

January 2020
A new virus emerges in Wuhan, China. It is so dangerous and spreads so rapidly that China is extending the holidays and closing universities.

January 29, 2020
There is a chance the virus might spread to other countries through travellers. Asked by the Higher Education Press Agency (HOP) if they are preparing for the possibility of exchange students bringing the virus to the Netherlands, Dutch universities say there is no reason to worry just yet. 

"The consequences of this virus are terrible, but we must take into account how big China is and the size of its population. We are following the reports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), but we are not concerned at the moment," a representative of Wageningen University tells HOP. Other universities echo Wageningen's answer. They are all waiting to see what will happen. 

January 31, 2020
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs adjusts its travel advice, establishing code red for Wuhan and the surrounding province, and orange for the rest of China. This means people should only go to China if necessary and not go to Wuhan at all. Most institutions follow this advice. 

DUB publishes its first article about the virus on January 31, informing the university's guidelines for students and staff coming from the Wuhan region. Students are advised not to travel to China, but exchange students coming from China are still welcome on the orientation day.

Meanwhile, three major universities of applied sciences forbid students and staff from travelling to China. "We do not think it is responsible to travel to China right now," says a spokesperson for Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. 

February 25, 2020
A severe outbreak happens in northern Italy and all educational institutions in the region close their doors. About 4,000 Italians come to study in the Netherlands and two hundred students go to Italy on exchange each year. And that's excluding all the holidaymakers. So, it is a matter of time before the virus gets here.

HOP asks RIVM what will happen when the virus arrives. A spokesperson confirms that the government can decide to close all educational institutions in the event of a major outbreak, but RIVM considers that scenario "far from realistic right now." The spokesperson adds that such a decision would depend on the location and extent of the outbreak.

"It wouldn't hurt for teachers and students to see if they could work from home if it comes to that," HOP writes, advising people to verify if they have access to their files from home. The news agency recommends students and teachers take these matters into their own hands because the Ministry of Education does not want to anticipate anything and the umbrella associations representing universities and universities of applied sciences are reluctant to say anything other than "we are following the government's advice".

Meanwhile, UU is keeping an eye on the situation in Italy even though there is no negative travel advice. Universities of applied sciences have a crisis plan for emergencies, but not a specific plan for the coronavirus. "Fortunately, there is no reason to use it yet," says a spokesperson. 

February 27, 2020
The first Covid-19 infection has been confirmed in the Netherlands. The news comes on the last day of carnival celebrations. Universities continue to offer classes on campus after the confirmation of the second case, but students are advised to wash their hands, sneeze into their sleeves and use paper tissues.

March 3, 2020
TU Delft advises students and staff to stay home if they have a cough. The university is going further than the RIVM advice, which is controversial. Other universities don't go that far – Tilburg University, for example, does not tell people to stay at home despite the confirmation of thirteen infections in the city. 

Utrecht University sets up a crisis team, though UU President Anton Pijpers prefers not to define the situation as a crisis. UU students and staff receive an email from the Executive Board, advising them not to shake hands anymore.

March 12, 2020
The virus is on the loose. Students start petitions in several cities to demand their universities close their doors. Though young, healthy students are not at the highest risk, they are concerned about "the professors who teach our courses, who are not twenty anymore," in the words of an American student. Three Italians studying in Maastricht accuse the Netherlands of a lack of awareness. 

Meanwhile, DUB publishes an editorial explaining why people are so worried about the coronavirus. Some qualify the editorial as "fearmongering". USC and Woolloomooloo are the first student organisations to close their doors.

The cabinet is also becoming restless. Then Prime Minister Mark Rutte holds a press conference, asking institutions to switch classes with large numbers of students to an online format. Universities in Austria and Denmark are already closing completely, but Rutte refrains from doing the same. "It is up to each country choose its measures," he says. 

Shortly afterwards, the cabinet asks universities and universities of applied sciences to close their campuses and provide no classes in person after April 1.
Universities cooperate but do not want to overreact. 

UU summarises the measures in an email to everyone. Universities are only cancelling events with more than one hundred attendees, such as receptions and conferences. Classes are cancelled, but the buildings remain open for other activities.

An empty Utrecht Science Park. Photo: DUB

March 13, 2020
Utrecht Science Park looks like a ghost town as all educational activities are cancelled. The buildings are still open, though. 

March 15, 2020
The closure is extended until April 6. Cafés, student associations and sports clubs must close too. UU President Anton Pijpers explains in an interview with DUB that the university will assist teachers in organising online education.

March 16, 2020
Prime Minister Mark Rutte addresses the nation, saying we need to build up group immunity. He considers a lockdown "too drastic". A week later, he starts talking about a "smart lockdown".

Drift, deserted. Photo: DUB

Universities want to watch students as they take exams online

How to prevent students from cheating when exams must be taken online? Enter proctoring software, which allows universities to monitor students. Many students consider this a privacy violation, but judges and politicians dismiss their objections, arguing that the situation is exceptional.

March 19, 2020
Exams and tests become a dilemma for universities. How to make sure students don't cheat by having textbooks next to them or googling the answers? Proctoring software offers access to the cameras on students' laptops and phones, as well as their browsers. Though this could be a solution, it is considered a tad too expensive and not stable enough to monitor big groups.

Some object to its use out of principle, however. Youth organisations from both sides of the political spectrum have major problems with the use of surveillance software. At UU, the University Council discusses the matter but the university ultimately decides not to ban the software.

This is a big conundrum. Everyone is happy that universities managed to convert their classes to an online format so quickly, so why do students have to be so difficult? However, students argue that they shouldn't be forced to choose between violating their privacy or falling behind in their studies. 

They do have a point: ICT foundation SURF acknowledges that the violation of privacy is "considerable". Most institutions pay little attention to that and the then Minister of Education, Ingrid van Engelshoven, states that students should not make a fuss about it. This declaration causes quite a stir. Activist Tim Hofman tweets that students should make a fuss about it.

May 1, 2020
Some institutions, like Avans and Leiden University of Applied Sciences, do listen to the objections and stop using proctoring software.  They trust that their students will not cheat.

June 2, 2020
The central student council of the University of Amsterdam goes to court to demand UvA stop using proctoring software. They lose the case but appeal. 

April 2021
The Minister of Education says that the representative body has no say in the matter. Students continue to argue against it. 

June 2, 2021
The students are unsuccessful in their appeal as well. The Court of Appeal in Amsterdam judges that these are exceptional times, so UvA is allowed to continue using the software as long as the Covid-19 measures apply. 

December 15, 2021
Proctorio, one of the most commonly used programmes for this purpose, turns out to be easy to crack. Still, Dutch politicians see no reason to ban this type of software. 

February 7, 2022
Rutte's fourth cabinet takes office. The new Minister of Education, Robbert Dijkgraaf, follows the line of his predecessor and has no intention of interfering with surveillance software. Institutions must make their own considerations, he says. 

Self-tests: just stick this in your nose

The Dutch government spent hundreds of millions of euros to provide students and staff with free self-tests, even though initial trials showed that it would do little or nothing to keep the coronavirus under control. 

February 2021
Self-tests arrived on the market one year into the pandemic. Everyone is tired of lockdowns, so the higher education sector wonders if it could offer lectures in person by requiring students to get tested before coming to class. The first vaccines have already been developed by this stage.

April 1, 2021
It is not cheap to provide self-tests to everyone. The cabinet allocates half a billion euros to allow university students and staff to get themselves tested twice a week. The goal is to have classes on campus once a week, even though there are not enough self-tests available for everyone.

April 8, 2021
The question is whether this policy will work. A pilot at Avans University of Applied Sciences reveals that students are not keen on getting themselves tested this frequently as they feel that young people are not as likely to get sick from the virus. In the end, only 30 percent of the students approached participated in the pilot. Since the self-tests are not mandatory, the policy does little to contain the pandemic. 

April 16, 2021
The waste of half a billion euros seems to bother no one. In total, 8.5 billion euros were spent on support measures for the education sector. Universities, universities of applied sciences and student organisations all want to return to campus and politicians are demanding those free self-tests, so higher education institutions go with the flow.

"If these were normal times, I would be furious about it," says Dahran Çoban, from the National Student Association. Only the Socialist Party was hesitant about the measure, but the importance of education speaks louder.

April 19, 2021
The Netherlands is facing the third wave of the virus. The cabinet would like to make self-tests compulsory for students and higher education staff, if there is no other option. But it will not come to that.

July 5, 2021 
Minister Van Engelshoven acknowledges that the self-test strategy does not work. It is not enough to get oneself tested, people also need to keep their distance from each other.

November 9, 2021
Everyone saw it coming, but only 30 percent of students and 61 percent of staff members ordered the free self-tests. The minister considers that a lot but acknowledges that the government was expecting more. Nevertheless, the free self-test scheme remains in place.

March 16, 2022
The Omicron variant of the virus seems to be milder, or perhaps the vaccinations have helped. The cabinet decides that students no longer have to take preventive self-tests. That is, if they're doing that at all.

GGD vaccination centre at Utrecht Science Park. Photo: DUB

Well-being: how do you feel behind that screen?

At first, it was all about solidarity: applauding healthcare workers, staying at home to protect the elderly... But soon one realises that young people are not feeling great locked up at home and doing everything through screens.

March 2020
In the confusing early days of the pandemic, it isn't clear how students should behave towards their roommates. While some students are still throwing parties, others wonder whether or not they should keep a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. People are only allowed to welcome a couple of visitors a day, and their dates count too. When they get sick, many students count on their roommates for help. 

A group of students in Utrecht is fined and even risks a criminal record for sharing a balcony with roommates. As a result, youth parties in Utrecht call for more freedom. After a while, however, students no longer have to worry as much. It's only once they're outside that they are no longer counted as a single household. 

Student houses adopt measures to combat Covid-19. Photo: DUB

April 2020
The virus shows no signs of slowing down. What will happen when the first-year students arrive in September? It is hard to imagine an introduction week online, but UIT must do it anyway.

“The introduction week is primarily intended to get students excited and prepare them for what will hopefully be the time of their lives,” says the Groningen student fraternity Vindicat. "Such a feeling is difficult to convey online.”

June 2020
Universities are opening again, to a certain extent. At this point, however, few people are concerned about students' mental health. A meeting between medical students from Leiden University and the Minister of Education, Ingrid Van Engelshoven, is all about study delays and how to catch up. But then a survey of students and staff across several universities indicates that they are not doing so well.

September 2020
Politicians acknowledge that students are having all kinds of problems. Rents are rising rapidly, student debts are piling up, classes are online, and students are not allowed to have parties. They are simply not having fun anymore. All political parties demonstrate that they are aware of the problem, even though there is not much they can do about it yet. National research also shows that students have become more likely to have mental health issues. In Utrecht, student organisations team up with the municipality to encourage students to remain alert regarding the risks of the coronavirus.

October 2020
Students protest on Museumplein, in Amsterdam, asking for more classes in person. "Some first-year students have no idea who their classmates are,” says one of the speakers. “They only know their classmates as a black screen with a mute button.”

These students are not daft. They keep a good 1.5 meters distance from each other and wear a face mask. However, they would like to see more classes happeing on campus or in large buildings outside the campus.

November 2020
Another study shows that students' wellbeing has deteriorated since the beginning of the pandemic. Student organisation ISO calls the results “shocking”, but nothing is done about it.

December 14, 2020
The government announces a "hard" lockdown. Universities are affected too. Queen Máxima visits UU and talks to students. They tell her they have had enough.

Photo: Brunopress/Patrick van Emst

February 2021
Almost one year after the virus arrived in the Netherlands, politicians are starting to take action regarding students' mental health. They wonder if it really is impossible to offer more classes on campus or devise some creative solution.

The recognition of students' struggles will also come in the form of a tuition fee waiver of 50 percent and the right to use their free public transportation card for longer. Additional deans and study counsellors are hired as well.

"Imagine being a student right now, says the minister of education. “Waiting for your internship to graduate or staring at a screen from your student room, watching classmates you hardly know.”

Milestone: November 2021
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Trimbos Institute, and the Municipal Health Services (GGD) publish a shocking report on students' mental health, revealing that some students have been drinking and smoking too much. No less than 25 percent of respondents say they are fed up with life. 

This represents a political turning point. Minister Van Engelshoven wants to protect students from a new lockdown. She also wants to relieve their stress, regardless of the pandemic, as she believes that students should be given more time and space to develop themselves.

That same month, other researchers criticised the study, saying the sample size was too small. But that no longer mattered to politicians. Everyone continued to refer to the report.

June 2022
The new Minister of Education, Robbert Dijkgraaf, allocates 15 million euros per year for student welfare, given all the stories and studies about “depression, demotivation, concentration problems and substance use.” among this demographic. “These things affect me greatly,” says the minister. At the time, the coalition had already decided to reintroduce the basic student grant, a benefit that had been scrapped in 2015, by September 2023.

February 2025
Five years after the coronavirus arrived in the Netherlands, people wonder if students' mental health was affected as severely as one thought. Research results contradict each other, says a PhD candidate from Amsterdam who identified no increase in wellbeing problems among the young people she followed for her study. In any case, not everyone is convinced that things were that bad.

Binding study advice: pandemic or not, just get your credits

First-year students in the Netherlands must obtain a certain number of credits to be accepted into the second year. This rule is called "Binding Study Advice". But is it something that should apply during a pandemic? Isn't it too much to ask? Though this might seem like a simple matter, it did strike political sensitivities and taboos. 

March 13, 2020 
As soon as higher education institutions close their doors, student organisations ISO and LSVb warn that students could get into trouble if the situation lasts longer than “a few weeks.” The solution seems simple: temporarily suspending the binding study advice or giving students a little more time to meet the requirements. 

However, this takes a while to materialise as the BSA turns out to be a sensitive issue in politics. Minister Van Engelshoven and a significant portion of the Lower House want to get rid of it, but they never manage to reach a majority. At the same time, many education administrators are in favour of the BSA and are digging their heels in. 

Ron Bormans, chair of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, is an exception. “It is very important to allow education to continue as resolutely as possible, but also to reduce stress and feelings of uncertainty for both students and staff,” he states. Hence his decision to allow all first-year students through to the second year. 

In Utrecht, the students who do not achieve the required credits have their BSA suspended. 

An exam during the pandemic. Photo: DUB

March 19, 2020
Other higher education institutions fail to follow his example. The ministry agrees to grant students a postponement of the BSA, but that's nothing new. It's always been possible to get a postponement if circumstances prevent you from meeting the standard on time.

People are confused about the agreements. Media reports say that the BSA will be postponed for everyone, which is also how student organisations understands it, but universities say it isn't so. The BSA will only be postponed if the delay can be attributed to the coronavirus.

April 3, 2020
Minister Van Engelshoven chooses to side with the universities. It is up to institutions to assess which students will or will not take longer to graduate because of the pandemic. It is striking that universities of applied sciences are making firmer decisions. Avans, for example, is simply giving all students an additional year to obtain their BSA.

November 11, 2020
The next academic year starts but the pandemic is far from over. Once again, universities and universities of applied sciences seem to have different views on the BSA. Students at universities of applied sciences will receive a postponement of the BSA in advance, while university students will have to wait and see.

November 25, 2020
Student organisations write an urgent letter to university administrators, asking them to do away with the BSA. They do not expect the minister to help them, as indicated in a parliamentary debate.

December 9, 2020
The House of Representatives sides with the students. A majority of MPs believe that universities should not apply the BSA in full.

January 21, 2021
It took a while, but universities ended up lowering the BSA by 10 to 15 percent. 

February 26, 2021
Once again, universities of applied sciences take more drastic measures than their counterparts. Zuyd University of Applied Sciences does away with the BSA entirely.

One year later: January and February 2022
By now, everyone seems to have adjusted to a new reality: as soon as the doors close for a moment, students get a little leniency. Universities lower the standard once again and universities of applied sciences also make concessions. Students at the university of applied sciences level are being given an additional year to meet the BSA standard – that is, if their institution still uses the BSA at all.

One-and-a-half-metre society. Photo: DUB

Crystal ball: what about the future?

We have almost forgotten the empty terraces and deserted lecture halls. But what if another pandemic breaks out? 

When the crisis seemed to be over in the summer of 2022, many wondered if things would stay that way. Covid-19 could either become a minor seasonal disease, like a cold or flu, but it could mutate again and become more deadly.

The latter was the worst-case scenario in a report by the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), authored with others and published in September 2022, which attempts to predict the future. The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) was one of the organisations that contributed to the document.

Undesirable
What should we do if another pandemic severely disrupts our society and economy? According to the authors, cancelling classes in person altogether is undesirable even in such a context. They argue that it is better to teach outdoors or in "social and geographical bubbles".

They also raise the alarm about a "lost generation" of researchers who couldn't devote themselves to their research because they were taking care of others. Institutions must therefore ensure that their talent is not lost.

From crisis to crisis
The advisors sound a bit cynical about their influence. They write that administrators and politicians are not preparing for the various scenarios that could happen. “This has to do with a political-administrative dynamic driven by the short term. Moreover, public administration seems to be rushing from crisis to crisis.” The authors underscore that it is precisely when things are quiet that one has the chance to think about the future. “When things quiet down, Covid seems less urgent and attention slips away."

March 2025
That prediction proved true. According to several news outlets, the Netherlands is less well prepared for a pandemic than it was when Covid first broke out. The Dutch Safety Board has also said as much.

As for higher education, there are projects and reports here and there; and researchers are drawing lessons from the pandemic. Should a virus strike again soon, they believe we still know how to deal with it. After all, switching to online education and the six-foot rule won't be new.

Author: Bas Belleman (HOP)