BM 68 – Commodification of part-time education
In March this year a commission installed by the Dutch ministry of education gave their advice on reforms for part-time education. This advice included a proposal to start pilots with a new way to fund part-time education. The proposed new way of funding will remove the direct funding of parttime education organised by public universities. Instead students will receive vouchers worth less than half the amount of the previous funding. They can spend this voucher at any higher education institution including private institutions. This will mean a complete commodification of part-time education in the Netherlands. ESU condemns this step towards privatisation of part-time higher education and asks the Dutch government to refrain from piloting this new way of funding.