Minister wants less competition and government interference in higher education

Given the recent drop in student numbers, the budget cuts announced by the government, the disappearance of small programmes, labour market shortages and young researchers buckling under the pressure of their workloads, higher education institutions will have to make “strategic choices”, Bruins writes (in Dutch) to the House of Representatives. In a long letter on higher education and scientific research, he outlines his vision for the sector’s future.

Bruins wants to move towards a less market-oriented system. Educational institutions shouldn’t have to keep launching new programmes to keep up with the latest trends and attract as many students as possible, he argues. Instead, they should design their educational offerings together, by mutual agreement. This would also allow the government to take a more hands-off approach.

In times of austerity, institutions can sometimes show a disregard for government authority. Maastricht University, for example, has resumed recruiting foreign students, while the universities of applied sciences are involved in conflicts over support for depopulating areas.

Bruins is very much aware of this tendency and his letter refers to the increase in competition between institutions. “In recent years, the number of new programmes launched has exceeded the number of programmes that have been discontinued”, he notes. Nevertheless, he wants to force the institutions to come to the table.

Less optional

His solution is a change in the law. Bruins is going to enforce mutual agreement. In the future, higher education institutions can no longer launch or discontinue programmes without consulting their ‘competitors’.

Such consultations are not entirely new. As Bruins knows, institutions already manage their own affairs and coordinate their activities in various ways. “This is a positive development that I wholeheartedly support and would like to see continue.” His proposal is therefore to formalise these arrangements.

‘In the coming years I will gradually reduce the government’s role as an ad hoc catalyst in these areas’

The plan still needs to be fleshed out, and Bruins wants to work with the sector to determine what form these consultations should take. One thing is clear, however: small and unique programmes that serve an important purpose – for the Netherlands or their region – will definitely be preserved. This means that institutions won’t be allowed to simply shut down a Dutch language programme if they see a drop in enrolments.

On the other hand, the minister also wants the institutions to “capitalise” on social and economic opportunities through the programmes they offer. The new system is intended to encourage this, although it’s not yet clear how.

Less involvement

At the same time, Bruins wants government to be less involved in what goes on in the sector. He intends to spend less time and energy on issues related to work pressure, scientific integrity, diversity, inclusion and social safety. These are matters the institutions should be able to deal with on their own, he believes, without special funding or government regulations.

Funding will be adjusted accordingly, Bruins notes. He wants to take a critical look at “the entire mechanism by which the public budget is created”, with a particular focus on “predictability, stability and cooperation”.

Accessibility

A footnote in his letter suggests that this could affect the accessibility of education, as it may soon become more difficult to pursue a higher education degree. Bruins wants to “look at the consequences of upward pressure and the costs associated with transfer students and dropouts”.

The term ‘upward pressure’ refers to the political belief that too many students want to obtain advanced degrees, preferring research universities over universities of applied sciences, and universities of applied sciences over vocational training. The previous education minister, Robbert Dijkgraaf, wanted to turn this ‘ladder’ into a ‘fan’, emphasising the equality of different forms of continuing education.

‘Students would benefit if there was less emphasis on maximum self-development and upward pressure’

It’s a view that Bruins appears to share. “Students would benefit if there was less emphasis on maximum self-development and upward pressure”, he writes in his letter. But unlike Dijkgraaf, Bruins apparently wants to use education funding as an instrument to enforce this, though the exact nature of his plans remains unclear.

Postdocs

Despite the budget cuts and his plans to scale back government involvement in institutional policy, Bruins also writes about the careers of young researchers. “They are the next generation of leading scientists, working on research and innovation to tackle societal challenges.”

Although his own government’s cuts will only make their position more precarious, as his critics will be quick to point out, his letter offers no pre-emptive rebuttal. He does note that postdocs in particular are struggling. Their careers are uncertain, according to the minister, because there are “(too) many temporary positions”.

It will be up to the universities to come up with good solutions for young researchers at the collective bargaining tables

Bruins insists that the ball is in the universities’ court. It will be up to them to come up with good solutions for young researchers at the collective bargaining tables. This is one of the few areas for which Bruins has earmarked specific funding.

Figures

A total of 40 million euros will go to PhD students, postdocs and new lecturers. The previous cabinet launched so-called ‘start-up grants’ to give this group more breathing room and reduce workloads, but Bruins writes that he does not want to “introduce a separate instrument” to allocate these resources.

Put simply, this means that universities will be able to spend the money as they see fit. “This will limit the administrative burden on universities”, according to the minister. However, he does want the institutions to come up with plans on how they intend to use the funding to improve the position of young researchers.

To address workload issues, universities will receive an additional 25 million euros per year until 2028. This comes on top of the remainder of the slashed start-up and incentive grants, which will continue to provide 78 million euros in annual funding until 2031.

Tough sell

It remains to be seen how Bruins’ ideas will be received. The changes he’s proposing – in terms of funding alone – are significant and far-reaching. The opposition will undoubtedly sink its teeth into the plans, which could even sow discord within the coalition. The VVD, for example, has traditionally been in favour of tighter controls and performance agreements in higher education. The PVV has also long called for more control over the policies of universities in particular. But many of Bruins’ proposals still require consultation, exploration and research, and he will likely be able to persuade the coalition parties to wait for the results of this process.

HOP, Bas Belleman
Translation: Taalcentrum-VU