"Budget cuts could lead to a Dutch brain drain"
Utrecht Young Academy on the funding of higher education
Pushing the currently planned budget cuts for education will only push young academics to pursue their careers elsewhere abroad. In an opinion piece in the DUB, the UYA calls for action.
Despite increasing work pressure, the Dutch government continues decreasing funding for higher education. With the newest plan, the , another 183 million euros will be cut from the budget. Not only do the financial reforms affect the quality of education, teachers and academics are continuously overburdened with more administrative tasks while being left with no time for their research projects. If this situation continues, it will become increasingly likely that young academics will make the move abroad, where generally more budget is reserved for education than in the Netherlands.
In other words, due to increasing internationalisation, other countries will become a much realer option for Dutch academics. If we don't want to see these people move away, something has to change.
On December 14th, the organisation WOinActie will hold a protest in The Hague against the underfunding of Dutch higher education. The UYA supports this initiative.