News item | 08-06-2023 | 08:00
Colleges and universities must be a safe learning and working environment for students and employees. Minister Dijkgraaf (education and science) therefore presents an approach to increase social safety at the institutions together with students, employees and institutions. For example, there will be a new national program and he wants institutions to be given a legal duty of care. Dijkgraaf is also investigating whether there should be an independent point where students and staff can go for support and advice. He writes this today in a letter to the House of Representatives.
Minister Dijkgraaf: “Even in higher education and science there is no place for (sexual) transgressive behaviour, abuse of power, discrimination, racism and intimidation. A researcher who leaves science with a heavy heart because he does not feel safe. A student who doesn’t dare to ask questions during a lecture because of the teacher’s behavior – these examples are very dear to my heart. Learning, development and open debate are central to education and science and there are always dependency relationships. The lack of a socially safe environment can have a major impact on the lives of students and staff. It is crucial that we prevent this as much as possible. Students and staff must be able to develop optimally in a sustainably safe learning and working environment. I want to work on this together with colleges and universities.”
Power inequality
Several reports have appeared in recent years that show the need to improve social safety in higher education and science. Inequality of power, competition, the inviolability of teachers and researchers and gender stereotyping, among other things, form a breeding ground for the emergence and maintenance of social insecurity.
Work is already underway to improve social safety in both MBO, HBO and WO. In secondary vocational education it is a spearhead in the Work Agenda. This government is also structurally investing in more peace and space for education and research, with specific attention for young researchers and temporary lecturers. This addresses a number of causes of social insecurity in science: the scarcity of money for scientific research and education and the shortage of permanent appointments. The Administrative Agreement also includes agreements with institutions on, among other things, drawing up rules of conduct and monitoring.
New national program
Dijkgraaf wants to further strengthen the current policy with concrete measures, in order to give an extra impulse to the creation of a safe environment. The approach includes, among other things, that he will develop a national program together with students, employees and institutions to increase social safety. These are initiatives in which universities of applied sciences and universities work together and learn together. Think of a training program for managers and standards that codes of conduct should comply with. The new program has a duration of at least four years. Dijkgraaf will make a total of 4 million euros available for this program in the coming years. This is in addition to the 4 million euros for the aforementioned agreements from the Administrative Agreement.
The minister also wants – on the advice of the Education Inspectorate – to legally lay down a duty of care for the social safety of students. Social safety at colleges and universities is currently not explicitly stated in the law, which makes external supervision of this more difficult. He will also examine whether social safety should become a point of attention in guaranteeing the quality of education.
Report anonymously
Dijkgraaf is having further investigation into the complaints procedures. For example, whether reporting complaints anonymously increases confidence in these procedures. He also thinks it is important that victims can turn to an independent point for support and advice, outside the institutions. It is being investigated whether such a point can have added value.
He also wants to expand the ‘obligation to report, consult and report’ in the case of sex crimes to all students, regardless of their age. At the moment, this obligation only applies to underage students, because they would need more protection than adults. But in education there is always a dependency relationship. The amendment ensures that the board of an institution must in all cases report a suspicion of a sexual crime to the Confidential Inspectorate, part of the Inspectorate.
Finally, the minister does not want agreements to be made that force victims to remain silent about incidents. You cannot learn from mistakes and it is at odds with a socially safe environment. That is why he will examine whether and in what form these so-called ‘silence clauses’ occur in the various education sectors.