Photo WUR Universities and colleges should no longer offer cheap sports facilities. They distort the market, says education minister Eppo Bruins.
Educational institutions may not freely use public funding for private activities. Sports facilities are such a private activity, according to the minister. The same, incidentally, applies to canteens and cultural facilities. Universities may invest in them, but the price paid by students and employees must be in line with the market. That is usually not the case now.
Government funding
For years, academic and applied universities have had their own sports facilities, where students and staff can play sports cheaply. Until now, this was allowed because sports contribute to the mental and physical well-being of students and staff. Bruins wants to curb this as of next year. Cheap sports will then be seen as unauthorized government funding.
University association UNL opposes the new interpretation of the rules on behalf of the universities. According to UNL, a sports card for students can cost as much as 700 euros. Such a sports card now costs 120 euros per year at WUR.
Translated with help of DeepL.com.
What about government officials who have access to sports facilities subsidized by their institute? Would the same logic be applied to them?
https://www.bedrijfsfitnessnederland.nl/rijks-overheid
Come on, education is dropping now in every aspect but draw a baseline please. Increase sport cost for Students? What do you expect them to pay? a 700 euro / year sport right is around 58 euro / month, this is a ridiculous high price, for bachelor, master and PhDs who live on their scholarship. As for university employees, who are not known for earning good money, how could they pay more for doing some sports?
58 euro / month for sport school, should be a commercial gym with much bigger space and better conditions located in Amsterdam, this might be an okay price.
The ambtenaars from the government, please do something actually benefit/help the citizens as you are hired to do so, instead to exploit them. The government staffs are also benefit for communicating, sports, insurance, and etc., and these governmental staffs now accusing universities offer too much service for the employees, is nothing more than dispicable.