Funds from abolishment student grants finally invested in education

After the abolishment of the Dutch student grants in 2015, students have been made the promise that the money saved will be reinvested in the quality of education from 2018 onwards. Unfortunately, it is yet uncertain if the future minister will keep this promise. Today, however, we closed an agreement with the Board of the University concerning the investment of those funds in the upcoming annual budget.

In today’s University Council meeting we discussed the University’s budget for 2018-2021. One component is the distribution of funds that will be released due to the abolishment of the basic student grants. Today, the Board of the University promised to invest additional funds anyways. In the upcoming year, an additional amount of €4.67 mln will be made available for education at the University of Groningen, regardless of policies made by the future minister.

Lijst Calimero emphasized that it is important to invest these €4.67 mln where students need them the most. For years, we have been pleading for an improvement of the student-staff ratio. Hiring additional teachers will decrease class sizes and ensure attention for the individual student and his or her needs. Today, the Board of the University agreed to make the entire amount available so that faculties can hire more staff. We are very pleased with this development!

In the end, however, the investment of those funds must lead to the desired effects. It is important that control mechanisms are in place and ensure that the funds students do not receive any longer will indeed be reinvested and the quality of education will be improved! Therefore, we agreed with the Board to actively look for a system that allows us to control and adjust those investments if necessary. For Lijst Calimero, an agreement on those matters was an important requirement to give our consent to the budget of the University. We are proud that good agreements on the distribution of those funds could be made at our university. We are happy that our money will finally be invested in the improvement of the quality of our education.