The statement is part of the electoral platform presented by party leader Jesse Klaver in Amsterdam on Tuesday night. Selective admissions are only appropriate for special programmes, such as music conservatories or studying medicine, the party says.
‘Selective admission limits people’s chances’, the party asserts. And that, according to GroenLinks, means that students who do not perform satisfactorily in the first year should not be dismissed outright. Therefore, the binding study advice should be abolished. The same goes for the bachelor-before-master rule so as to enable students to start their master’s even if they do not yet have a bachelor’s degree.
Second study
GroenLinks also feels that following a second study programme should be made affordable once more. According to the platform, this can be achieved by curtailing tuition for a second study. Additionally, students with a disability should receive extra funding.
Furthermore, students and staff should have more influence over their institution’s policy matters, says GroenLinks. ‘There’s a reason the Maagdenhuis was occupied by dissatisfied students and teachers’, the electoral platform mentions. That is why the University Council should have a say in appointing administrators and in shutting down or merging study programmes, according to the party.
Funds for research
There also should be more government funding for independent and fundamental research by universities. This could increase the amount of permanent contracts and decrease pressure to publish, GroenLinks thinks.
The platform marks the start of GroenLinks’ campaign leading up to the Lower House elections on March 15 of next year.
Photo: GroenLinks