The student loan system will soon be abolished and the basic grant is going to return, according to the new coalition agreement. Still, many students that are part of the ‘bad luck generation’ are not satisfied with the compensation they are getting. This Saturday they are going to protest at the Museumplein. ‘The cabinet can’t just push nine years of students to the side as if they belong to the garbage.’

The student loan system will soon be abolished and the basic grant is going to return, according to the new coalition agreement. Still, many students that are part of the ‘bad luck generation’ are not satisfied with the compensation they are getting. This Saturday they are going to protest at the Museumplein. ‘The cabinet can’t just push nine years of students to the side as if they belong to the garbage.’

The new cabinet wants to abolish the student loan system in 2023 and compensate current students. One billion euros has been set aside for this, which amounts to about 1000 to 2000 euros extra compensation per student. Way too little, many student think, which is why they’re going to protest at the Museumplein in Amsterdam on Saturday during the Compensation Protest. These three students from Nijmegen will be there.

Mo Quirijnen (23), student in history and philosophy

‘The system is completely broken. It’s good that the cabinet wants to abolish the loan system, but my generation is going to be totally screwed. Because of my dual bachelor study, I need longer to graduate than someone who does it by the book. That also means my student debt is higher. It feels like I am punished financially because I want to get the most out of my study.’

‘Looking at the way this movement is growing, I really hope something is going to change. I would prefer that my student is waived in its entirety, but I don’t know if that is realistic. A first step would be that when I want to apply for a mortgage, my student debt is not taken into consideration. The most important thing is that having a student debt doesn’t screw up the rest of my life.’

‘With that in mind I’m going to protest. I don’t think standing still on the Museumplein for two hours will convince the cabinet to compensate us more fairly, but it creates a movement that will have an impact long-term. We show the government and House of Representatives that we won’t just accept whatever they think of, and we create awareness among students: we don’t have to just sit around and accept this.’

Daan Willems (22), student in Greek and Latin Language and Culture

‘In 2015, the decision was made to replace the basic grant with the loan system so the money that was saved could be invested in education. To me, that was just an easy way to justify what they were doing. I haven’t noticed any changes. Furthermore, the new generation of students, who will also receive a basic grant, will actually reap the benefits. I don’t begrudge them that, but I do think I deserve fair compensation.’

‘The loan system was abolished because of persistent protesting. That is why I trust this protest to also lead to success. The Dutch Student Union expects the Compensation Protest to be the biggest student protest ever. This protest is a good first step to show we are seriously not accepting this form of compensation. We are not the climate complainers, but the compensation complainers. The compensation has to change.’

‘The compensation they have proposed is a true insult. The cabinet can’t just push nine years of students to the side as if they belong to the garbage. I would love to see what has happened with the money the government has saved since 2015 and put into education to improve the quality. A sort of final evaluation of the loan system with the question “Was it worth it?”. I am pretty confident the answer is no.’

Shivan Meijs (20), student in political science and member of the action committee at AKKU

‘As a member of the action committee at AKKU I’ve been heavily involved in the organisation of the protest and creating the campaign in Nijmegen. For example, last Tuesday we sprayed our message with chalk around Nijmegen to urge people to come to the protest on Saturday.’

‘Over four hundred students from Nijmegen are going to the Museumplein on Saturday. That is the biggest number of signups we have ever had for a protest. If you are still in doubt whether to go: fight for your rights, even if you have no student debt. Even if you are not doing it for yourself, do it for your fellow students.’

‘To me, it’s important we are listened to and that we receive fair compensation. As a student, you shouldn’t have to accept you are part of a failed experiment for which you pay the damages.’