Scientists urge new minister to invest in knowledge

Two years ago, the outgoing Minister of Education earmarked an additional 200 million euros for higher education institutions, in the shape of "sector plans". Integral to the education budget, these plans aimed to give institutions enough resources to offer 1,200 researchers a permanent contract early in their careers. The incoming coalition (comprised of parties PVV, NSC, VVD, and BBB) now wants to reverse that investment, a move that has sparked considerable opposition.

Spinoza and Stevin laureates attacked the cuts, describing them as a threat to the earning capacity of the Netherlands. In a letter to the editor of the national daily NRC, 78 laureates emphasise that the sector plans provide long-term vision and stop research from falling prey to fads and fleeting trends. 

Breach of trust
The award-winning scientists slam the proposed cuts as “a huge breach of trust between the new government, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the scientific field as a whole, especially considering that some 1,200 young researchers have been given permanent employment contracts in recent years.” They argue that the cuts “put those appointments at risk”. 

Their letter echoes earlier criticism by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, which was “shocked by the warning signs” being given off by the new coalition. WOinActie, a platform of university lecturers and students, estimated that the total cuts to higher education in the coalition agreement equate to the budget of a major university.

Take revenge
The cuts to the sector plans are not entirely unexpected, however. VVD had already criticised them two years ago when the party raised the issue of funds being given to the social sciences and humanities rather than "the country's earning capacity".

Last week, PVV said it was happy to see cuts being made to universities where they feel activism has become too dominant. The party gave no evidence to back this claim. In a farewell interview published by NRC last Friday, outgoing education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said PVV’s statement was “hard to accept” as it suggested a desire to “take revenge”. 

Precarious
It also pains him to see that the investment in permanent contracts for young researchers is in danger of being withdrawn. Promovendinetwerk Nederland and PostdocNL, two groups representing the interests of PhD candidates and postdocs in the Netherlands, share Dijkgraaf’s concern. Scientists at the start of their careers “will be the ones paying the price”, the two groups argue. “Precarious contracts, heavy dependence on managers and abuse of power lead to social insecurity, especially among young researchers.”

Own advice
They refer to an op-ed in the daily FD, signed by the prospective education minister Eppo Bruins, published eleven days ago. At the time, Bruins was writing as the head of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (which posted the letter on its website the following day). Five days later, he was announced as a candidate for the post of Minister of Education, Culture and Science. 

In the op-ed, he advises the new government to ensure “stable and long-term public-sector funding for research and innovation”. He describes such funding as “essential to give companies and knowledge institutions greater certainty so that they know where they stand”.

Bruins’ opinion piece also touches on the concerns raised among scientists “even before the presentation of the coalition agreement”, in response to proposed cuts in the National Growth Fund. “These are legitimate concerns given the vital nature of investment in research, development and innovation. A country that fails to systematically invest in these areas has no future.”