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international

Minister will join public debate on democratisation at the UvA

Maartje Geels,
2 december 2016 - 10:53

How will the university be managed in future? On December 7 Minister for Education Jet Bussemaker and Jasper van Dijk, Member of Parliament for the Dutch Socialist Party, will participate in a debate on the democratic future of the UvA . Chair of the Commission for Democratisation and Decentralisation Lisa Westerveld will also attend.

The public debate is organised by the Amsterdam student union ASVA and is intended to raise awareness on the on-going referendum in which the academic society has been asked to vote on four models of governance.

 

The debate is to follow a talk given to parliament by Jasper van Dijk in which he discussed the democratisation of Dutch universities. He stated that Bussemaker, as Minister for Education, should have learned more from the Maagdenhuis occupation in 2015. The occupation was the direct cause for the commission's subsequent report and the ensuing request for a referendum. 

Democracy
Van Dijk himself was involved in the occupation of the Maagdenhuis and went on to publish thirty action points to create a more democratic management in response. The list was intended to change both the UvA's top-down culture of management and the UvA's prioritisation of efficiency and economic viability over academic quality; a strategy that quickly became known as ‘rendementsdenken’ or ‘the doctrine of return’. This policy is largely seen as the cause of the deterioration of academic quality and as limiting personal development. 

ASVA chairman Henriette Hoogervorst hopes that the debate will generate more interest in the referendum and motivate students to vote. Hoogervorst also said that she would be delighted if Bussemaker were to issue a statement indicating that she is open to democratisation and would be willing to make the necessary amendment to the law that would enable the green model (for decentralisation) to come into force if voted for.

Entry to the debate is free. Location to be announced through Facebook