The university has been cooperating with housing organisations and municipality for years to try to ensure that there are sufficient rooms for all Groningen students. According to Alderman Van der Schaaf, however, the RUG and Hanze University are not doing enough, and it’s time they ‘took their shared responsibility’. De Jeu disagrees: ‘We usually work really well together. But I must disagree with the alderman on this point.’
Van der Schaaf is sick of the fact that international students were once again forced to find temporary solutions to their housing search. He feels this is bad for the city’s image. To that end, the alderman wants the educational institutes to provide rental guarantees to ensure that new housing can be built. That would also eliminate the need for rules about how many international students the university and Hanze are allowed to accept’, he said.
‘He doesn’t know what he’s talking about’, De Jeu responds. ‘He doesn’t know that we invest 800,000 euros a year, and that the Hanze invests 200,000 euros’, he recently said during a University Council meeting.
Guarantees
Each year, the university estimates how many international students will come to Groningen, based on the amount of registrations across the faculties. They then ask housing organisation SSH to make the necessary number of rooms available, provided the company can find them. The RUG then pays SSH 800,000 euros in vacancy guarantees. But these guarantees only apply to international students who are looking for a furnished room.
Student party DAG feels these measures are insufficient, faction chair Jasper Been told De Jeu during the council meeting. He calculated that 800,000 euros spent on housing, divided over five thousand internationals, adds up to 160 euros per student. ‘I honestly feel that is too little, considering the amount of tuition fees they have to pay. This group is the most vulnerable of all when it comes to finding quality housing for decent prices’, according to Been.
De Jeu feels the criticism expressed by Van der Schaaf and DAG is unfounded. ‘Do we feel responsible for the proper housing of international students? Of course we do. That’s evident in the fact that we immediately took action and offered alternatives to the students in need.’