Higher education to continue supporting culture and sport

The Minister of Education, Eppo Bruins, rescued student sports from a financial crisis last Wednesday, saying that universities and universities of applied sciences will be allowed to continue investing in sports facilities on campus for now. The minister put a stricter financial oversight on hold. 

Now, he is doing the same for cultural centres. Student theatre groups and music associations will therefore be able to continue using theatres or other spaces on campus cheaply or free of charge. Bruins will continue to “tolerate” the current situation, according to his spokesperson.

Relief
The news will probably come as a relief to cultural centres at universities and colleges, which often receive direct or indirect support from the educational institutions they are part of. Parnassos is part of Utrecht University, for example, as is X in Delft. In Nijmegen, students can use the cultural facilities and play sports with a single subscription.

In Eindhoven, students can use the university's facilities for theatre, photography, dance and music, without paying market rates for that. This means that the university indirectly subsidises them, which is precisely what Bruins wanted to put an end to.

Sports protest
Student sports clubs protested against the rules because a sports pass could become more than three times as expensive. Last Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives from across the political spectrum agreed that sport is an important part of student life. Bruins then promised not to enforce his rules just yet.

During the debate, Sandra Beckerman, an MP representing the Socialist Party, also spoke about the importance of cultural activities, but Bruins limited his answers to student sports. He was not asked any further questions about cultural activities during the debate.

A spokesperson for Bruins said it made sense to exempt culture from the new policy. ‘It is obvious that what has been tolerated will continue to be tolerated for a while and will therefore not be enforced on the grounds of unlawful spending on culture.’

Self-cultivation
Beckerman is pleased that theatres and botanical gardens will not be affected for the time being. ‘These are things that contribute to students' wellbeing and self-cultivation. It's great that the minister is tolerating it for now, but a permanent solution must be found quickly.’

Thom Crielaard, chair of Scala, the umbrella organisation for cultural student associations in Eindhoven, is also reluctant to breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Until the minister says that we definitely won't have to pay the market rate, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.’

On Wednesday, Bruins stated that he had not anticipated the consequences when drafting his new policy. He has since decided to carry out an impact analysis first.