Manifesto draws attention to student issues

Ensure that we can learn effectively, according to a manifesto issued by student organisations ISO, LSVb and JOBmbo, and pupil organisation LAKS. They presented it to the Dutch House of Representatives yesterday, as they believe education should be a major theme in the run-up to the 29 October elections.

‘Students are growing up in a country where the pressure to perform is high, opportunities are unevenly distributed, mental health problems among students are on the rise, and many students struggle to make ends meet,’ the manifesto states.

Sweating

The four organisations are demanding, among other things, a higher basic grant and compulsory internship allowances. Politicians must also combat discrimination in education and make education more accessible.

Other than that, they criticise the pressure to perform on pupils and students. ‘We must get rid of sweating, knowing and forgetting. Shift the focus away from grades and back to the learning process.’ Among other things, they are targeting the centralised final exams in secondary education, which they believe should carry less weight.

Fierce political debates

In higher education, they want to abolish the binding recommendation in the continuatiuon of studies (BSA in short), so that students are no longer expelled after their first year if they have not achieved sufficient credits. Many university of applied sciences have already relaxed the bsa.

The demands in the manifesto did not come out of the blue. Politicians have been talking about student welfare and the financial problems of young people for years. The basic grant was suspended for eight years and returned in 2023. The BSA also invariably leads to fierce political debates.

HOP, Bas Belleman