NETHERLANDS. Starting with a student revolt and ending with a teachers’ strike, 1995 was a tumultuous year as the Dutch government wrestled with plans for one of the biggest post-war reorganisations of the Netherlands’ education system.
Under the programme to create a more market-driven, performance-based and decentralised system, tertiary education was to bear the brunt of the reforms and huge spending cuts. But students were angered by proposals to shorten the length of degree courses, increase university tuition fees, and introduce a grant loan scheme.
A major revolt was only avoided after student unions and universities were invited to join a committee to devise ways of increasing the quality of higher education with the pledge of Pounds 2 billion.
Although the reforms are still being fine-tuned, there will be a stricter selection process for university applicants, new shorter courses geared towards practical skills and a greater use of “computer-supported education” to free up more teaching hours.
The government is committed to breaking the “vicious circle” in which students take an average of five-and-a-half years to complete a four-year course because they are eligible for a six-year grant loan. In future, university funding will also be based on degree passes rather than absolute student numbers.
The education ministry also unveiled plans to eradicate “soft options” at secondary schools and oblige pupils to pass a central exam and a final one set by their school to qualify for university education.
Extra cash was allocated to primary education. “Higher education is the tail of the dog and should not be wagging the dog,” said education minister Jo Ritzen.
Another priority will be improving safety at schools, after a recent report showed that a quarter of Dutch pupils owned a weapon or object that could be used as a weapon and that 15 per cent of pupils had been involved in serious physical violence.
