'The unprecedented cuts of more than a billion euros in higher education are bad for people, planet and the economy. If you cut back so much on the sector that comes up with concrete solutions to the social problems that the Netherlands is facing, you create your own problem. No money? Then you run the risk that we will no longer be able to come up with solutions for, for example, the housing shortage or high healthcare costs. Erasmus University Rotterdam has to make significant cutbacks now.' This is what Annelien Bredenoord, Chairman of the Executive Board, said in a first reaction to the presentation of the Schoof Cabinet's Budget Memorandum.
'It's penny wise, pound foolish what this government is doing. In the long run, they damage both people and the economy. With the supposedly sharp choices of this cabinet, we are in danger of losing an entire generation of young, talented scientists,' says Bredenoord. The CPB, SCP and PBL planning agencies also argue that the government is short-sighted about the benefits in the short term. Earlier this week, former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi advised to make extra investments in education and research to keep the European economy competitive.
Bredenoord: 'But our government is cutting back on the knowledge that keeps our country prosperous and competitive. The shortage in the labour market, the housing crisis and rising healthcare costs; our universities help the Netherlands with concrete solutions to social problems. I cannot imagine that this government will continue to opt for this huge cutback, despite all these clear recommendations. At the same time, we are realistic and have been preparing for financially difficult times for some time. We will use the next few days for internal consultations and consultations with the other universities to see exactly what the consequences are. I am afraid that redundancies in higher education are inevitable.'
Austerity measures
In anticipation of the elaboration of the Outline Agreement, Erasmus University Rotterdam has taken a series of measures to achieve a healthy budget and to absorb future setbacks. Ellen van Schoten, Vice-President of the Executive Board and responsible for EUR's finances: 'We have a first impression of how big the effects of these extra cuts will be on our university. By working more efficiently, collaborating even more both inside and outside the university and by making more use of external funding sources, we believe we can balance the 2025 budget excluding the consequences of the outline agreement.'
We note that some of the measures in the outline agreement will take effect as early as 2025. Van Schoten: 'This has a direct effect on researchers who have already been promised a start-up grant from the 2025 funds for next year. Together with the other universities, we will oppose this. We are sticking to our previously agreed budget process for 2025 and 2026, but will make the effects of these measures visible on our 2025 operating account. For 2026 and beyond, including the outline agreement, we will develop a number of scenarios in which, for example, we will also look at other uses of our real estate. But we are already taking strong measures, such as a 5% cutback order for support services. In this way, we compensate for those organisational units that do not manage to balance their individual budgets, so that we do have a balanced budget in 2025 as a total of EUR added up.'
Sum
The fact that savings have to be made is the sum of several factors. EUR is financially healthy, but there are declining student numbers, which means that funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is decreasing. In addition, the government wants to limit the number of international students through the Internationalisation in Balance Act, which will further reduce that number. On top of that, there will be an additional cut from The Hague.
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Read the reaction of Universiteiten van Nederland
More about Annelien Bredenoord
More about Ellen van Schoten
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