At the start of the Wageningen part actions on April 15. Photo Resource After the relay of protests at universities and colleges, there will be another national demonstration against the cuts in education and research. It is scheduled for June 10. The location is not yet known; details of the nationwide protest will follow. This was announced by Gijs Kooistra, director of the union FNV Education & Research.
The cuts in education and research have only just been approved in the Senate and immediately new cuts are coming on top: in the Spring Memorandum the cabinet is again cutting education and research. This goes against the grain of activists, who in recent months made their voices heard throughout the country – with a large turnout in Wageningen as well. Last week’s action by TU Delft students and staff was the last in the relay for the time being.
Other unions and action groups are also participating in the new national demonstration, such as the National Student Union. ‘The strikes have apparently not been enough yet,’ says chairman Abdelkader Karbache. ‘In the Spring Memorandum, the new damage to higher education is not too bad. That shows that the strikes did help. But now vocational and secondary education have been hit. The coalition cannot be trusted, we must show that we do not accept this.
According to Karbache, the government has also lost its “allies,” making the protest even more likely. He is referring to the three Christian parties and JA21, which compromised with the governing parties to soften the cuts. CDA, Christian Union and SGP turned out to be unpleasantly surprised that new cuts are already on the table.
The previous nationwide protest took place last November. Using the slogan “Don’t do it,” thousands of demonstrators came to the Malieveld in The Hague – including over two hundred WUR workers.
Translated using DeepL.
