Students should not “travel during peak hours” under any circumstances, writes State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Stientje van Veldhoven in a letter to the Dutch parliament. This has been agreed between the cabinet, the universities and the universities of applied sciences. The use of public transport has been the subject of much debate due to the corona crisis. Social distancing is difficult on a train or bus. How can the virus be prevented from spreading in a crowded peak hour service?

Face masks

The government is urging people only to use public transport for essential journeys. Avoid the rush hour. Walk or cycle wherever possible. With effect from 1 June, face masks will be mandatory on public transport.

One of the options discussed is a time slot between 11:00 and 15:00 hours that applies specifically to students, rector Frank Baaijens said yesterday. This plan is currently still under consideration, but Baaijens said yesterday already that such a time slot is of little use to students at his university. “What are we supposed to offer them in such a short period?” Baaijens also said that he understands that the public transportation issue poses a major problem for the cabinet.

Exams

Avans University of Applied Sciences has already prepared a draft timetable for possible exams on campus, so that students can register for them in good time. But it is not yet certain whether those exams will be able to go ahead.

Concerning the exams of the fourth quartile, Baaijens said that these will be held fully online. This means that it will certainly not be possible to hold any of these exams on campus at the end of June. He said he also strives to limit the number of exams that need to be held using proctoring as much as possible. Earlier, Baaijens stated that the use of this tool is maximized for one quarter of all the exams.