University staff and students are set to protest against the Government’s higher education budget cuts in Groningen on Thursday.
On November 14th a national protest against these budget cuts will be taking place in Utrecht which will be attended by the directors of the University of Groningen. Satellite protests will be taking place in other cities, including in Groningen.
If you can’t join the Utrecht rally you can attend the demonstration in Groningen. It starts in front of the RUG’s academy building at 13:00 and will involve a march towards the Grote Markt. The demonstration is expected to last until 15:00.
The RUG has given all students and employees the opportunity to join the protests by being excused from work. They will be scrapping the student attendance rule for the day and it won’t count as a day off for employees.
The budget cuts were revealed by the government on Prinsjesdag and implemented at the start of the academic year. Protestors find that the budget cuts don’t just hurt the quality of education, but also limit the democratic rights of universities. They believe it’s part of a strategy to curb criticism of the current far-right government.
