56 thousand signatures just before protest against ‘demolition’ of higher education

Last week’s large protest in Utrecht against the cutbacks was cancelled at the very last moment, even though students did go out into the streets and the speakers were welcomed to the House of Representatives.

But a new date has been set: the afternoon of Monday 25 November, at the Malieveld in The Hague. Via social media, WhatsApp groups and mass emails, all organisations and action groups are calling on their members and sympathisers to be there.

There will be a stage where representatives of unions, action groups and institutions will address the crowd. An artist will also perform: Benjamin Fro. The exact programme is in the works.

Budget

The protest is just in time, as the House of Representatives will debate the budget for the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science that week. Plans to be discussed include the slow-progress penalty (or an alternative that’s not yet known) and the cuts of hundreds of millions in the budgets of universities in particular.

Here and there, worries are voiced about whether the rescheduling of the protest will affect the turnout. Perhaps people will be more motivated to go, out of indignation at the Utrecht ‘ban’. On the other hand, it requires many teachers, researchers and students to clear their schedules for the second time in a short period: will they do so?

Protest movement WOinActie understands the problem. “Being as conscientious as they are, many are reluctant to cancel lectures or reschedule other commitments once more”, a website item reads. “We ask university administrators to contribute by making it possible for staff to protest and by closing the universities for all regular activities.”

The doors may not close, but university administrators are encouraging their staff to join the protest. At TU Delft, employees do not have to take a day off if they want to join the protest.

Petition

The protest won’t be the end of it. The day after, on Tuesday, unions, student organisations and action groups will present their petition against the cutbacks to a delegation of the House of Representatives. The petition warns that the cutbacks will aggravate the existing financial shortages, “resulting in more overtime, poor working conditions, stripped-down education, occupational disability and the departure of staff.”

In the coalition, tensions are running high at the moment, but not – or not yet – because of the cuts in higher education. These are criticised by students and education institutions, but also by the business community. So far, the coalition has shrugged off all criticism. You sometimes need to make painful choices, the answer invariably comes back.

What’s more, PVV is downright happy with the cutbacks. Yesterday, in the Senate, member Gom van Strien made scathing comments about the management layers at the universities, which he says waste money. Incidentally, he himself is caught up in a legal battle over dubious financial transactions back when he was a director at a subsidiary of Utrecht University.

HOP, Bas Belleman; Delta