What are the supervisory boards doing about discrimination and misbehaviour?

In March, the Inspectorate of Education accused Delft University of Technology's board of mismanagement in the area of social safety. Three weeks ago, the Labour Authority criticised the working conditions at many more universities. Discrimination, misbehaviour and sexual harassment aren’t uncommon. These examples demonstrate “how important monitoring is to bring malpractices to light when institutions do not succeed in safeguarding social safety”, writes outgoing Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf to the House of Representatives. 

Investigation
Dijkgraaf wants to reinforce monitoring in this area through the Labour Authority and the Inspectorate of Education, but he also wants to talk to the supervisory bodies at higher education institutions. This summer, the Inspectorate of Education will launch an investigation into supervisory boards in the higher education sector: what do they do and how effective are they? This investigation will encompass more than social safety, according to a spokesperson for the inspectorate.

Duty of care
To make the monitoring of social safety more manageable, the minister is working on a statutory "duty of care" for social safety in higher education. Such a duty gives the inspectorate a clearer frame of reference to intervene when the social safety of students is compromised. The minister has also turned to the American Title IX civil rights law, which prohibits discrimination in education, for inspiration – at the request of the House of Representatives. Proper frameworks are key, he says.

Maritime shipping
Without proper frameworks, it’s tricky to investigate social safety, a recent article by the Dutch newspaper NRC shows. Three employees of the Terschelling-based maritime institute NHL Stenden lost their jobs after several investigations into lack of social safety. However, according to the judge, none of the investigations were good. Colleagues tell the newspaper they are entirely in the dark and don’t know what the problem was exactly.