Council of State critical of PhD student

The official launch of the "experiment with PhD studentships" marks a dark chapter in the history of PhD programs in the Netherlands. The Dutch PhD Network (PNN) has repeatedly criticized the experiment with PhD students in recent years. They are not alone in this, as the Council of State also issued highly critical remarks last fall regarding Minister Bussemaker's plans.

When then-State Secretary Zijlstra submitted his draft law for the introduction of the PhD student scheme to the Council of State in 2012, he was heavily criticized. Key points of criticism at the time were 1) the risk of PhD students crowding out employee PhD candidates, 2) the loss of opportunities to gain teaching experience, and 3) the difference in status between PhD students and employee PhD candidates, which could result in the creation of first- and second-tier PhD programs. In light of this criticism, Minister Bussemaker opted to conduct an experiment first. The Council of State's recent advisory opinion thus addresses the possibility of conducting an experiment.

As with the previous bill for grants, the Council of State is once again very critical of the plans for PhD students. First, it states that this is not, as the ministry claims, a small-scale experiment, but rather a large-scale one. A second point of criticism is that it is unclear how this experiment compares to failed experiments with PhD students in the past. After all, the University of Groningen had already used PhD students until the tax authorities put a stop to it . Instead of examining the consequences of this "experiment," the Minister fails to address them. Regarding the preconditions for the experiment, the Council of State is clear: just as in bachelor's and master's programs, PhD education must also meet quality standards. Because it is not sufficiently clear how the Minister intends to approach this, she is advised to clarify how she will guarantee the quality of PhD education. Regarding the monthly grant that PhD students will receive, the Council of State notes that no attention has been paid to the question of whether PhD students will also have to pay taxes. In addition, there is little attention to the social security aspects of the appointment of PhD students, another point on which the Council of State would like to see more clarification.

The PNN endorses the Council of State's criticism of the experiment and has previously expressed this to the Ministry and politicians. The PNN believes that this experiment does not do justice to the important and responsible work that PhD candidates perform at universities and is also concerned that it will not improve the quality of PhDs. Therefore, the PNN will be working on removing the uncertainty surrounding the tax deduction of PhD grants, social security, and how the quality of PhD education is guaranteed.