International

The Commission has once again had an idea: there should be a ranking of higher education in Europe, and for that purpose a new European system should be developed, to be called U-Multirank. This is an action which typifies the way Brussels sees higher education. Here too we must have the market, as this will ensure that the best result is reached. For this it’s necessary that universities compete with each other, and the ranking system will help. The point supposedly is to enable the student to make a well-informed choice, especially when it concerns a university outside their own member state, because it’s then that the European market works best. You would think that the influence of such neoliberal notions would have diminished in Brussels following the financial crisis and the many incidents involving fraud and speculation by executives, but no, the Commission carries on regardless. In the SP’s view, education is not a market and we therefore see no sense in ranking. I shall be doing my best in the European Parliament to shoot down U-Multirank, although that won’t be easy as long as there remains a right-wing majority.

The question of U-Multirank is a live issue because just this week the European Commission put out a tender for the development of the system. The British House of Lords has responded to the plan with a critical report, but unfortunately the parliamentary commission responsible did not take a position wholly in opposition to ranking. They opposed U-Multirank because given the already existing world-side systems it would be a waste of money, and most of all because it would increase confusion over what is the correct ranking.

It is for many universities nowadays extremely important to attract a large number of students from abroad. Their fees are, remember, a great deal higher than those of Dutch students. In that sense there is already a sort of European and even international market. Ranking helps in this, as the higher your standing, the more you can charge. This has already led in the US to a situation in which there are ‘top universities’ which are unaffordable to ordinary people, unless you are one of the lucky few who happen to win a bursary. Let’s not go down that road in the Netherlands, however much the government may be doing to further such a development. As for Europe, the Commission should as far as I’m concerned make a U-turn away from U-Multirank. The sooner they retrace their footsteps and think again, the better.