Photo Tessa Louwerens Dutch primary and secondary schools are allowed to open on 10 January, but all further and higher education institutions must wait a little longer, the outgoing cabinet announced on Monday 3 January.
The decision follows recommendations by the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), which will review its decision on classroom education on 14 January.
Practicals and laboratory work will remain possible, exams will carry on as planned, and the university library will stay open, although a maximum of 75 students per room will be welcome. For staff, the guideline remains: work at home unless that really isn’t possible. Click here for an overview of the coronavirus guidelines.
Resilience
Meanwhile, student unions are very concerned about the effects of the closing of in-person higher education on students. The National Student Union (LSVb) calls it a ‘a severe blow to students.’ The Dutch National Students Organization (ISO) talks of ‘a major downer’.
According to the union, many students can’t cope anymore. ‘This decision means another period of loneliness, symptoms of depression and concentration problems, without a clear end in sight.’ The union argues that the question should not be whether higher education can open but how it can open up safely. ‘With self-testing, perhaps giving lectures for large groups online, and applying attendance rules flexibly, that is quite possible.’
