Universities are worried about what lies ahead if the cutbacks planned by the new cabinet take place and some are already economising, broadcaster NOS has found.

The cabinet announced a €215 million cutback on higher education and a further €150 million annual reduction of the budget for scientific research as part of its coalition plans.

The universities expressed their concern in a letter to education minister Eppo Bruins earlier this month, saying that “the quality and accessibility to academic education and research will be directly threatened” and that they would protest “vehemently and consistently” against the cuts.

Some universities told NOS they are already looking at ways to cope with the impending cuts. Groningen University, which calculated cuts may come to an annual €82 million, has cancelled plans for a new building as has Radboud University in Nijmegen.

Twente University said it expected a cut of €57 million while the VU in Amsterdam may face an annual drop of €110 million, €10 million more than the University of Amsterdam.

“That is 10% to 20% of the total budget and will have major consequences VU,” chairwoman Margrethe Jonkman said.

“Scientific research is not a washing machine you can turn on and off, “ she said. “Cuts now mean less revenue for the country. We are not here to please ourselves, but to boost the labour market and innovation.”

Most universities are no longer hiring (external) staff and some are contemplating scrapping courses, NOS said.

Wageningen University said it would lose some 10% of its budget. “There is a lot of shouting about balancing food production, climate, nature and health. That is our area of expertise,” chairwoman Sjoukje Heimovaara said. “At the same time, they are cutting our budgets. We understand that we all need to do our bit but these are painful choices.”

Maastricht University has not made any plans.” We want to see the final plans before we do anything,” chairwoman Rianne Letschert told the NRC. “We are financially sound. I think that talk of cutting back would paralyse our researchers and staff,” she said.

Delft and Tilburg universities also said they would “wait and see”.

The new coalition also plans to reduce the number of international students at Dutch universities and colleges, and plans to make sure more courses are available in Dutch.