Thousands join protest against drastic Dutch research budget cuts

Thousands of protesters have demonstrated against planned cuts to Dutch higher education and research, gathering in the Hague to decry a proposed funding reduction of more than €1 billion (£840 million).

The budget, which was first announced in May to widespread outcry, was expected to be debated in the House of Representatives this week. Among its proposals are the elimination of starter grants for early career academics and significant cuts in funding for the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Eppo Bruins, minister of education, culture and science, has described the cutbacks as “painful” but “necessary”.

Students, academics and administrative staff protested against the budget with a march from the Malieveld, an outdoor space commonly used for demonstrations, to the education ministry, as reported by national broadcaster NOS. They carried signs reading “invest in the future” and “stop the Eppo-calypse”.

The education union AOb, which organised the demonstration alongside the trade union federations FNV and CNV, the student union LSVb and campaign groups including WOinActie, stated that more than 20,000 joined the protest.

Ahead of Monday’s demonstration, the Network of Knowledge Cities Netherlands released an open letter in support, signed by Universities of the Netherlands, Universities of Applied Sciences Netherlands and student housing association Kences, among others. The organisations described the proposed cuts as “very unwise and also damaging to the future of the Netherlands”, adding: “The cutbacks threaten to cause education and research facilities to disappear”.

Marileen Dogterom, president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), attended the protest, telling NOS: “What you are doing by cutting back on investment in education and research is actually cutting back on the welfare and prosperity of the future in the Netherlands.

“What you invest now in education, but also in innovation and research, will clearly pay off in the longer term.”

In a column published last week, Professor Dogterom said the cutbacks were “mortgaging [the] future” of young people in the Netherlands, while highlighting that the country has yet to come close to the European Union’s research and innovation spending target of 3 per cent.

Alongside the budget cuts, the KNAW president also critiqued the Dutch language measures included in the “internationalisation in balance” act, writing that while “the KNAW fully agrees that Dutch (and Frisian as well) needs protection”, the education minister “completely ignores the fact that English is the common language in a large part of science”.

The law, Professor Dogterom said, could result in the Netherlands becoming less attractive to international talent while its quality of education declines. “How small does the Netherlands want to be?” she asked.

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com