Photo: Guy Ackermans. One billion euros is the outrageous number by which the new government of the Netherlands will be cutting the higher education budget for 2025, which means that researchers and teachers will have fewer resources to do their jobs. Jobs that happen to be centralised in the generation of knowledge and new ideas and will boost innovation and technological advancements that positively impact the progress of the nation, potentially ensuring prosperity.
It is evident that such cuttings will cascade down in every higher education institution, and therefore, some other financial adjustments will occur. However, are universities, and, more specifically, is WUR taking the best approach to face this imminent crisis?
Like the Dutch government, WUR will be cutting off starter grants, which were previously promised to many young researchers in the institution. Such a situation makes one wonder if WUR is wisely prioritising knowledge over money.
Is WUR taking the best approach to face this imminent crisis?
It is true that bills, salaries, et cetera, must be paid. However, it seems that the nationwide measures are obscuring the relevance of the knowledge capital, and this is permeating into the deepest corners of education.
It is through knowledge that nations accomplish economic development, so why is the generation of knowledge the first in the line to be affected when economic development falls back?
Perhaps what we are missing is more internal and governmental policies that prioritise knowledge-generating human capital and the related institutional investments.
One of the greatest lessons that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is that it is only through knowledge that nations can be prepared for the prevention, mitigation, and abating of a global crisis. Let us not wait for another pandemic – or crisis – to set our priorities right.
Willy Contreras-Avilés (34) is a second-year PhD candidate in Horticulture and Biochemistry of medicinal cannabis, from Panama. He likes to dance (perrear), cook Italian food, and swim.
