Sporting in the Bongerd. Photo Anna den Hartog The announced price increases for student sports are causing a lot of unrest among students. A petition prepared by the National Student Union is being signed en masse.
Educational institutions are not generally allowed to use public funding for private activities. Now the minister has changed the policy to include sports facilities in the definition of private activities. Incidentally, along with cafeterias and cultural amenities. Universities are allowed to invest in such facilities, but then students and staff have to pay prices that are in line with the market.
‘But what does “in line with the market” mean?’ wonders Ten Klooster. ‘There is no comparable market. You can’t compare us with Basic Fit or something like that. There isn’t a market player offering what we do.’ The sports centre is used by around 7,000 students, 1,100 employees and 300 retirees. WUR has 32 sports clubs with a total of 3,000 members.
Lack of vision
Bruins argues the cheap sports on campus are unfair competition for the sports market. Ten Klooster disagrees with this point of view. ‘If we do our work well, we are actually helping that market. We go all out to get students to exercise. When they graduate, they will continue playing sports elsewhere. A few years of playing sports at cheaper rates is an investment.’
‘There is a lack of vision in the whole approach,’ continues Ten Klooster. ‘Students don’t have much money. In the past, that was always used as an argument for cheap student sports facilities. We built up a whole institution for this, and we employ 103 people. Now all of a sudden that is being questioned because of alleged market distortion.’ Behind the scenes, the association of Dutch universities UNL is holding discussions with the minister. The left-wing party GroenLinks/PvdA says they will be proposing a motion to get the minister to change course.
