Minister Bruins' policy letter raises many questions

Last Friday, Minister Eppo Bruins outlined his policy for secondary vocational education, higher education and scientific research. The letter gives his political allies and opponents an idea of the direction he is taking.

Bruins wants education to be more in line with the labour market and societal needs. He also wants institutions to battle less for students. Today, universities are funded according to the number of students they attract. Bruins would like to change that, ensuring that funding for higher education becomes more stable. Institutions will also be obliged to coordinate their educational programmes.

Reactions
Universities are particularly pleased that Bruins wants to reduce their administrative burden. "This is desperately needed because the burden is currently high and it looks like it is set to increase in the next few years," states the university association UNL.

"The big problem right now is that half a billion euros are being cut from higher education and science. Universities are being forced to lay off staff, cut back on the range of courses on offer and stop research into topics like cancer treatment and Parkinson's disease."

The universities welcome the idea of less competition and more cooperation, but they are sceptic of the idea of a legal obligation to consult with each other about the educational programmes on offer. "We have been doing that for a long time", the universities say. They have created a joint arrangement for small and unique programmes in the Humanities, for example. "We wonder what a legal obligation will contribute to that."

Universities of Applied Sciences
The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (VH) also sees little point in a legal obligation to consult with each other. "Universities of applied sciences have already indicated that they want to take collective responsibility. Legislation in this area is unnecessary," states the association's website.

In their view, the minister's letter lacks "concrete ambition". Take the connection between education and the labour market, for example: if you want employees to brush up on their knowledge or be retrained if necessary, then universities of applied sciences should be tasked with providing a range of courses accordingly.

Universities of applied sciences would also like to offer more Master's programmes. They quote the minister: "Education, research and innovation are the catalysts for labour productivity and prosperity growth." For that reason alone, VH believes that students at the universities of applied sciences level deserve all the support they can get if they want to follow a Master's programme.

Student union
The National Student Union is concerned that higher education is turning into a "diploma factory", in the words of chair Abdelkader Karbache. "The minister is focused on the labour market and nothing else."

Bruins criticises the “upward pressure” that students feel, meaning the urge to obtain a “higher” degree. "It would be nice if he could explain where that pressure comes from," says Karbache. He does not think young people pay much attention to the labour market or are easily persuaded to make different study choices. "That would be a bit naive. Technical universities have been trying for years to attract more women to technology and they have not succeeded."

That is why he regards plans for "capacity funding" in higher education (in other words, funding that is less dependent on student numbers) with some suspicion. He fears this could lead to fewer students and more selection. "We are very concerned about this. It will require more time and research, but we students want to be very careful with this."

Mylou Miché, chair of the Dutch National Student Association, is equally concerned. She too suspects that funding based on capacity will lead to selection. "It will increase the pressure to perform", she predicts. "We don't think it's a good option. Students should be able to develop freely, as they wish."

She has more reservations about the letter, which she finds rather vague. For example, the minister wants peace in the system, but what does that mean? "There are 800,000 students in that system and they are not really the issue. What exactly does the minister want to do to promote equal opportunities and accessibility?"

She understands that Bruins is aware of shortages in areas like healthcare and education, as well as declining student numbers. "We students also think it is important that degree programmes offer prospects, but how does he intend to realise this?"

Politics
It remains to be seen how the letter will be received in the political arena. "It's pretty vague," says MP Jan Paternotte, from the opposition party D66. "The letter does suggest a little bit of what he wants to achieve, but it fails to specify how. It all comes across a diversionary tactic: he is trying to pretend that the budget cuts do not affect people."

As for the attention paid to labour market connections, he says: "Everyone is in favour of good connections and a critical look at what is on offer," says Paternotte, "but the number of students is falling so fast right now that it is causing problems for institutions and courses are disappearing. Bruins does not provide answers when you ask what he wants to do about the number of foreign students after all."

The coalition party VVD is more favourable to his plans. Member of Parliament Claire Marte"ns-America also has many questions: she would like to know about the speed and the implementation, for example. "But, for now,  am certainly positive, she says.

The VVD considers the attention to the labour market and society logical. ‘Politicians have little say in the education on offer, but we are held responsible for the social challenges in, for example, healthcare, education and technology,’ says Martens-America. ’Politicians are rightly distanced from education, but now we are also seeing the pitfalls of this. I think it would be healthy to look into this.’