Austerity mindset

And just because he’s human,

a man would like a little bite to eat;

he wants no bull and a lot of talk,

that gives no bread or meat.

TU Delft’s austerity plans are ready. Let’s go through them briefly. First, no more teaching assistants (TAs). We can’t afford to give each student personalised assistance from more experienced peers. Second, fewer PhD researchers. We can’t afford to maintain all the people doing research to solve societal challenges. Third, those fewer PhDs now have to spend less time doing the research they signed up for and more time covering for the lack of TAs.

Finally, fewer private farewell dinners for the Rector Magnificus. We can’t afford to close down valuable learning spaces right before an exam period and spend money on luxuries. Oh no, wait, I was reading the article upside down. Those dinners are fine.

The national education budget cuts are an external development that we have to adapt to. Nobody is disputing that. And there are some situations where teaching hours could be more efficiently used by teaching assistants. And there is a rationale for allowing – not forcing – PhD researchers to take on teaching duties to help them prepare for a future academic career. But it is impossible not to notice the common thread in TU Delft’s plans.

No, the ‘cost savings’ don’t actually come from cutting out the middlemen that make a profit on providing services on campus or from spending less on consulting fees. Nor do they come from eliminating luxuries. What gets cut, and especially who gets cut, is a matter of power and representation. No more free lunches for lunch lectures or educational committee meetings, fewer teaching assistants, more work for PhD researchers. The burden falls exactly on those whose voices are the least heard in the halls of power, because they lack the tools to influence the decisions being made.

Those who have the power to protect their funding against those who don’t

And so, this austerity creates an austerity mindset: those who have the power to protect their funding against those who don’t; every research group head and course coordinator competing to secure funding for TAs and fewer teaching duties for PhDs. This logic of scarcity forces us to make individualistic decisions and focus on ourselves rather than on those imposing these conditions.

TU Delft’s mission is education and research to solve societal challenges. This means that the main stakeholders are students and researchers – exactly the ones suffering the brunt of the budget cuts. In the meantime, those in charge of TU Delft – those who say that we need to live within our means – occupy an educational space for a private dinner for the Rector Magnificus. If this were a movie, I would say the metaphor is on the nose.

So don’t expect anyone from above to save us. We need to continuously question the logic of austerity and remember who is most harmed by it. We need to use the little representation we have to pressure those making the decisions, and demand solidarity. I say TU Delft could do with fewer private dinners.