Approximately 150 demonstrators at the Erasmus square kicked off the Nijmegen WOinActie week. Executive Board President Daniel Wigboldus was also present: 'As an institute for higher learning, we recognise the problems WOinActie is bringing to the fore.'

‘No ifs, no buts, no education cuts,’ students and staff are chanting at the Erasmusplein. Despite the chilly weather, 150 people attend the kick-off of the Nijmegen action week as part of the WOinActie, an initiative that is organised by action group Changing Perspective and student union AKKU. The demonstrators are mainly students, some representing political youth associations, and a dozen professors.

MP Frank Futselaar (SP), the first speaker, finds it incomprehensible that the cabinet is once again cutting back on higher education in its annual budget plan. ‘This has direct consequences for the future of the Netherlands,’ he says. Futselaar also describes the increased interest rate on student loans as outrageous. ‘First, students are forced into a loan system; now they have to pay an extra 5,000 euros per year. That is plain unrealistic.’

AKKU chair Miranda van de Burgt says that since 2000, 68 per cent more students have joined the Dutch universities, while the government contribution per student has decreased by 25 per cent. ‘And then the minister announces additional cuts on Prinsjesdag,’ she shouts. ‘There is no more room for cuts. It is time to call the minister to order!’

Bottleneck analysis

A striking presence at the demonstration is Executive Board President Daniel Wigboldus. Someone from the organisation has pinned the red WOinActie button on his lapel. ‘We appreciate that students and staff at our university organise this initiative,’ says Wigboldus. ‘As an institute for higher learning, we recognise the problems WOinActie is bringing to the fore.’

Wigboldus calls the quality of Dutch higher education very high. ‘That is due to the commitment of many. However, our education system is vulnerable,’ he continues. ‘The work pressure for teachers and researchers is high; the loan system requires large financial investments from students. Action is urgently needed. That is why, in the framework of the VSNU, we recently presented the Education Minister with a bottleneck analysis.’

Only the beginning

With his poem De vreemdeling (‘The Stranger’), campus poet Lev Avitan pleads for more diversity in education. Marijtje Jongsma expresses the support of the VAWO academic trade union for WOinActie. The final speaker is political philosopher Mathijs van de Sande.

‘We should not just make demands of the government in The Hague,’ he says. ‘Radboud University also bears responsibility when it comes to the temporary contracts and unpaid evening work of staff and the expensive accommodation of international students.” His words are greeted with cheers and applause.

Half an hour after the start of the demonstration, the crowd disbands. Miranda van de Burgt, the chairperson of AKKU, looks back with satisfaction. ‘Had the weather been better, we might have been able to attract more people, but all in all this was a great start to our action week,’ she says. ‘Hopefully, the lectures being held throughout the week will attract just as many people.’