7 November 2024

Dear staff and students,

On 14 November, there will be a national demonstration against the planned higher education cuts announced by the current Dutch cabinet, which are set to have far-reaching consequences. This demonstration will take place between 13.00 and 15.00 in Utrecht and has the full backing of the Faculty Board.

To prevent additional work and study pressure, the university has consciously decided not to declare a lecture-free afternoon for the whole university. However, we do want to give students and teaching staff the opportunity to go to Utrecht on Thursday afternoon. For more information about the demonstration and the teaching scheduled for Thursday afternoon, please refer to the message from the Executive Board.

Like other Dutch universities and faculties, Leiden Law School’s financial situation is under pressure. The Dutch cabinet has announced substantial higher education cuts, amounting to approximately €1 billion. Our students are also at risk of incurring late graduation penalties, which will affect equality of opportunities for our current and prospective students. The cabinet also wants to limit the number of international students coming to the Netherlands and make Dutch the standard language for many bachelor’s degree programmes. This may have a huge impact on bachelor's programmes taught in English at Dutch universities. We simply cannot let this happen.

So, let’s come together in Utrecht on 14 November to send a clear message against these planned measures.

Kind regards,
The Faculty Board,

Suzan Stoter, Jan Crijns, Gertjan Boshuizen and Roel Kwast