While the cabinet is having to dig deep into its pockets to limit the impact of the corona crisis, the Ministry of Finance last month published 16 reports outlining a raft of possible cuts – some of which affect higher education.

The stated options include reducing the total budget for higher education by 1.9 billion euros per year and not paying out the studievoorschotmiddelen (institutional funding available under the student loan system), which amounts to 590 million euros. Ceasing to fund master's programs is another possibility and would make a long-term saving of 970 million euros.

Cold sweat

Administrators and politicians made no secret of their aversion to the plans. MP for the Socialist Party Frank Futselaar broke into a “cold sweet”, he wrote on Twitter. “I hope that no party (or minister) is crazy enough to try to implement any of this.”

Executive Board President Ron Bormans of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences wouldn't hear of it either. “If this happens, we'll dig our heels in.”

For the time being this won't be necessary: the report are, in fact, nothing more than a mental exercise. At the request of the Lower House, every couple of years the Ministry of Finance lays out cuts that could be made at each of the ministries. Whether or not the options are desirable is deliberately not mentioned.

Moreover, the civil servants also suggest quite the opposite, namely how ministries can spend more money; the Ministry of Education, for example, by improving its services for students with an immigrant background who are looking for a job or internship, or by increasing its long-term investment in adult education.

Bad timing

In a video interview with Erasmus Magazine, Minister Van Engelshoven said this morning that all the commotion stemmed from “a big misunderstanding”. “This isn't something we are about to do.” She was responding to a question from a concerned lecturer: we've been working our socks off these past weeks to deliver online education, and you're announcing cuts to the tune of a couple of billion?

But according to Van Engelshoven, this is a purely “theoretical exercise”. The reports were finalized at the end of February, but published at a moment she felt was unfortunate: in the middle of the corona crisis. “Plans like these have even been drawn up for cuts to healthcare,” she explained. “Now, of course, that's not something anyone can imagine at the moment.”

Just not possible

During the interview the minister was again asked how she will be helping students who fall behind schedule with their studies or become unemployed due to the corona crisis.

“We cannot compensate everyone,” she repeated. “That is just not possible.” Final-year students, those who were due to graduate before the summer but who have been forced by corona to re-enroll in September, are one group that she does want to help financially. The details of this arrangement [link] and the number of students involved are not yet known.

It is a “miracle” that universities of applied sciences and universities have been able to switch so quickly to online education, the minister believes. “The institutions really are doing their utmost. It is my job to continue providing financial stability so that they can carry on this good work.”