Petition has been signed 51,000 times
Researchers and administrators also plan to attend demonstration against 'slow student' fine
A poster promoting the protest.
This Saturday, the National Student Union (LSVb) will protest against the "slow student" fine. The protest will be held at Jaarbeurs Square in Utrecht. Researchers, university administrators and the youth sections of political parties will join in.
Fine
The new cabinet is looking to tighten up the reigns. If they go ahead with their plans, students will have to pay 3,000 euros extra if they are more than one year behind in their Bachelor's or Master's. About 95,000 students would be affected each year.
Students and youth sections of political parties (including those from NSC and VVD, two parties in the coalition) oppose the measure. GroenLinks-PvdA (an alliance between the Green Party and the Labour Party, Ed.) has started a petition that has been signed more than 51,000 times.
Solidarity
WOinActie, a platform that denounces underfunding in the higher education sector, has manifested its solidarity with the students and is also coming to Utrecht. The movement is calling on university administrators to participate in the protest too. “LSVb's protest focuses on the fine, but the fine symbolises the cutbacks planned for higher education and the destruction of knowledge in the Netherlands,” they said in a statement.
The new coalition also wants to make significant cuts in research. In a recent debate, PVV celebrated the cuts as a victory over "woke" activism at universities. Outgoing Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf calls this "revanchism". However, he will not attend the protest on Saturday.
Move
The demonstrators were supposed to gather at Dom Square, but the police demanded they move the protest to Jaarbeursplein as it could accommodate more people if more demonstrators show up than expected. “It is a little bit difficult to predict how many people will come,” says LSVb chair Elisa Weehuizen.
In any case, several youth organisations will be there, as will the National Chamber of Associations, the university association UNL, the education trade union AOb, and the National Youth Council.
It is not yet known whether the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences will participate. The other nationwide student organisation, Intercity Student Consultation (Dutch acronym: ISO), is not likely to be there. “We are not a protest organisation,” says incoming chairman Mylou Miché.