If the Senate approves the reintroduction of the basic grant on Tuesday, students will again receive a monthly amount from September that will become a gift after their education. That is a relief for many students, although according to many the bill is far from perfect.
If the bill passes the Senate, the criticized student loan system will be over for next academic year. The basic grant is coming back. This means that students receive 110 euros a month if they still live at home and 275 euros if they live on their own. This should lower the financial barrier to studying.
The breakdown generation receives a compensation of 1,400 euros. These are students who have studied under the current loan system and have therefore not received a basic grant.
The vote in the Senate will not be very tense, says Yasmin Ait Abderrahman, chairman of FNV Young & United. The majority of the Senate is expected to vote in favor of the bill on Tuesday.
This is also necessary if students have to be able to apply for the basic grant before September. If the law is not passed, education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf will have to go back to the drawing board. The chance that the grant will then be introduced for the coming academic year will then be much smaller.
Happy with the basic grant, but there are snags
“We are pleased that the basic grant is returning. That is a real victory for us,” says Ait Abderrahman. At the same time, the youth union has many objections. “We don’t think the grant is sufficient. Students will still build up a sky-high debt.”
The chairman calls the compensation for the bad luck generation a drop in the ocean. “People who belong to that group are really angry about that. Yet it does not seem that the amounts will be increased. But we remain committed to it.”
Forgotten group of students falls between two stools
Then there is also a group that falls between two stools. The new basic grant only applies to students who have studied for less than four years. “Every year that you have already studied before the basic grant starts again, the entitlement to the basic grant is reduced by one year,” says law student Marieke Schunselaar.
If you have already studied for two years, you will then have a basic grant for another two years. “Students who have been studying for more than four years don’t even get a basic grant at all. That’s not fair,” she says.
Students who have studied in recent years have often had to work more to make ends meet because of the student loan system. In many cases, this leads to a longer study time. “In addition, we had to deal with corona,” emphasizes Schunselaar. “Many students had more difficulty with their studies during the corona pandemic. I also study a little longer, because I had to switch to online.”
That is why, according to Schunselaar, it would be very helpful if current students could claim a basic grant with the same duration as future students. “Or if the bad luck generation would be reasonably compensated.”
That will probably not happen again before Tuesday’s vote, because the minister has said that this has not been budgeted. “But maybe a new coalition thinks differently about this.”
2023-06-04 03:00:12
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