These are pitch-black stories that local children’s ombudsmen heard from young people who were duped by the Benefits Scandal. Some became homeless, got into debt or became very poor. They dropped out of their studies early and had to work instead of study to keep the family afloat financially.
The children’s ombudsmen saw enough reasons for requesting figures in The Hague. Because how many of the affected young people have borrowed from the Education Executive Agency (DUO), and what are their debts? Their request for information was rejected for privacy reasons. And the House of Representatives ignored the adopted motion with the same questions.
In a response to the motion, Sandra Palmen, outgoing State Secretary for Recovery and Benefits (non-party), advised against additional compensation. She emphasized that these young people are already ‘reimbursed to their parents through compensation’. In addition, the State Secretary does not want to “create unjustified expectations among these young people.”
The children’s ombudsmen got to work themselves and started a reporting point last fall. More than 1,800 young people responded to the online questionnaire with their experiences. They were twice as likely to discontinue their studies as an average student. Often due to stress or to be able to contribute financially at home by working. More than half also used their student loan to financially support their family. Nearly 10 percent took longer than ten years to complete their education.
Protest signs
The children’s ombudsmen from Rotterdam-Rijnmond, Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Nijmegen believe that politicians should recognize and compensate these young people. They bundled the results of the reporting center in the report It is not your (study) debt. With protest signs saying ‘not my fault, but my problem’ they handed over the report on Thursday to State Secretary Sandra Palmen (non-party) and outgoing Minister of Education Gouke Moes (BBB).
“But what is perhaps even more important than figures is how long the consequences of these debts haunt these young people,” says Coby van der Kooi, children’s ombudsman for The Hague and Leidschendam-Voorburg.
Children’s Ombudsman Coby van der Kooi of The Hague and Leidschendam-Voorburg.
Photo: municipal youth ombudsman
“They still experience the impact of the Benefits Scandal on a daily basis,” says Van der Kooi. “It is not just about the student loan, but also about obtaining a diploma at the level that they would actually have been able to achieve.” The results of the reporting center show that a third of young people had to follow a lower level of education due to the impact of the Benefits Scandal.
The damage suffered by these young people is much greater than the compensation of up to 10,000 euros that children of benefit parents can receive
These debts still hang like a “millstone around their necks,” says Nijmegen children’s ombudsman Yvette Nass. She states that young people, just like their parents, are victims of the Benefits Affair and must therefore be compensated as such.
“The damage suffered by these young people is much greater than the compensation of up to 10,000 euros that children of benefit parents can receive,” says Nass. The questionnaire shows that almost 20 percent of affected young people have a student debt of more than 50,000 euros, nationally this is less than 10 percent.
“Their parents and possibly ex-partners are generously compensated: they are compensated for their debts and damages – including any student debts. Young people can receive help from the municipality with problematic debts, but DUO student debts are not recognized as problematic by national legislation,” says Nass.
“There is also a big difference with other young people who have taken out a student loan. While they could usually use the money for themselves, these young people had to spend it on supporting their family. As a result, they have not only lost part of their youth, but also of their future.”
Relationship between parents and children is disturbed
The Hague children’s ombudsman Van der Kooi adds: “Children are referred to their parents who have been compensated. [de reacties op] The reporting center often stated that the relationship between parents and their children has sometimes been disrupted precisely because of the Benefits Affair. At its core, this also ignores that young people are independent victims.”
Many young people no longer dare to apply for benefits, even though they are entitled to them
“And they lack prospects for the future. These young people do not now have the opportunity to continue their studies or obtain their diploma at the level they could have achieved.”
Children’s Ombudsman Yvette Nass of Nijmegen.
Photo: Municipal youth ombudsman
In addition to financial damage, according to the ombudsmen, there is continued distrust towards the government. “Many young people no longer dare to apply for benefits, even though they are entitled to them. Or they do not dare to take out a new loan,” says Nass. “They have experienced for themselves that the government does not help them when necessary. That reinforces the feeling that they are on their own. That distrust runs deep.”
Disappointed
“We left quite disappointed and emotional,” says Nass after the conversation in The Hague with the State Secretary and Minister of Education. “The bottom line is that they made the offer [de compensatie] consider sufficient for these young people. We have had a listening ear, but it has not led to any concrete improvement.”
The children’s ombudsmen do draw hope from the coalition agreement. “It states that there must be a good arrangement for the affected young people. So we still have some hope in that, that it will become something more than what we have now been told. But that may be a vain hope.”
Also read
Young people in The Hague: not only our parents, we also bear the scars of the Benefits Affair
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