The fine for delayed graduation is a punishment for failure

For many students, the academic year didn't start on a rosy note. The basic student grant has been reduced, diminishing their income, and the new government is causing them additional worries and uncertainty. One of the proposals of the new cabinet is a fine for students who need more than one additional year to complete their studies. This penalty, presented by the Minister of Education, Eppo Bruins, has been a source of stress for many young people. Anyone who believes that the Netherlands benefits from forcing young people to rush through their studies does not understand how important it is to be able to fail along the way.

The fine for students who delay their graduation is at odds with the idea that failure is an essential part of the learning process. By punishing students for the delays, the government is implying that it is unacceptable to make mistakes and experience setbacks. This undermines students' willingness to take risks, try new things and think outside the box. Instead of creating an environment in which students feel safe to experiment and learn from their mistakes, they are promoting a culture of performance pressure in which the end goal – graduating as quickly as possible – becomes more important than the learning process.

No matter how much fun your day following that second-year psychology student was, no one has a perfect picture of what studying is like until they actually start their studies. You only get an idea of what suits you once you take various subjects, do internships and talk to people in other fields. Therefore, it is not at all strange that some students take a while to find out whether they've chosen the right programme. The range of programmes to choose from is huge and changes often, just like the labour market you are preparing to join.

The proposed fine punishes students who adjust their study choice. This is absurd, since changing study programmes is often crucial to finding the right fit and fully exploiting our potential. But even if you have chosen the right study programme, the penalty can affect your intrinsic motivation. When choosing a topic for a paper, I sometimes face a dilemma: should I choose a topic I am sure about and for which I can easily get a pass, or should I go for something a little more challenging, with the risk of a lower grade because it takes more time and effort? The fine will make students choose the safe option, out of fear of failing and suffering the financial consequences.

The threat of a fine has a counterproductive effect on students' intrinsic motivation. Instead of following their curiosity and genuine interest when choosing subjects, students may be guided by their fear of the fine. This can affect the quality of education and prevent creativity and innovation, which are so important in higher education.

Fortunately, I am not the only one who thinks this way. This measure is getting criticism from many angles and there are many more reasons why this is a bad idea. So, sign all the petitions you come across on social media so that you and I can confidently fail that difficult statistics course!