Denied support to PhDs with scholarships ‘not surprising, but still disappointing’

Dutch universities have about 3,800 international PhD candidates with scholarships from different countries. An investigation by Delta had previously shown that these PhDs  face all sorts of problems in the Netherlands as they are not officially employed by their universities. They do not fall under a collective labour agreement, have fewer rights to facilities than their peers who are employed, and may miss out on government services like childcare allowances. On top of this, their grants are often too low to cover their bills and their incomes are often below the minimum wage.

The matter is on the agenda of the House of Representatives for Wednesday 20 March. A committee debate will then discuss a letter that outgoing Minister Dijkgraaf submitted to the House at the end of February. In the letter, he said – just as in December 2023 – that he thought it was too expensive for universities to employ PhDs with scholarships. His letter was in response to an investigation by the PhD Network Netherlands (PNN). The PNN had spoken to hundreds of PhDs with scholarships about their vulnerable financial and legal positions.

Not the first time

The PNN believes that being employed would solve these problems. But that will not happen. “We deplore the fact that yet again nothing will be done to improve the financial position of international PhDs with scholarships,” says the PNN Chair, Benthe Wanrooij.

Dijkgraaf is not the first Minister to refuse to help PhDs with scholarships. In 2019, the then Minister of Education, Ingrid van Engelshoven, came (in Dutch) to the same conclusion. Rama  , a TU Delft PhD candidate with a scholarship, calls the lack of support ‘not surprising, but still disappointing.’ He continues. “This has been an ongoing discussion for a long time, but little progress has been made.”

Contribution to academia

He says that this is a pity as PhDs with scholarships make a significant contribution to academia in the Netherlands. “We bring added value to the Netherlands in terms of research findings, academic publications, and knowledge.” PNN too emphasises how important these PhDs are for Dutch universities.

Rama is from Indonesia and receives a grant from the LPDP (Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education). The amount of the grant was raised in July. He now receives EUR 1,500 per month plus the highest family allowance of EUR 750 as his family came with him to Delft. “This makes it easier for us to make ends meet. But others probably still have a lot of problems.” According to the PNN research, the average monthly income for PhD candidates with scholarships is EUR 1,402. The lowest grant is around EUR 700.

Delft

At present, five universities in the Netherlands are topping up the incomes of this group of PhDs. They have all made agreements regarding taxes. For a while from 2009 onwards, (in Dutch) TU Delft topped up the grants, but this has since stopped. After the publication of an investigative story by Delta, in July last year TU Delft’s Works Council (OR) drew attention to the position of PhD candidates with scholarships at TU Delft. Rector Magnificus Tim van der Hagen promised ‘to take this signal on board’. The OR members of the HR Committee are currently asking themselves if this is an adequate response.

PNN hopes that during the committee debate members of the House of Representatives will alert the Minister to the consequences of his actions. “We cannot just let these PhDs slip away, both for their own well-being and for the quality of their research.”