Minister Van Engelshoven: “Erasmus University teaching teams deserve a great compliment"

"It is very impressive to see how creative teachers have been in organizing online education in recent times. That also costs them a lot of energy, but the goal of facilitating home education for students as well as possible is what drives them enormously. I am very grateful and happy with the flexibility and dedication of the teaching teams at Erasmus University, they deserve a great compliment," said Minister Van Engelshoven.

Workload among teachers very high

Due to the corona crisis, teachers have been working much harder, resulting in more increased work pressure and stress. "We see daily that our employees deliver top performance and provide education for our students, as Executive Board, we greatly appreciate this," said Rutger Engels, Rector Magnificus. "However, we also see that this situation is not sustainable in the long term, so we want to take measures in the coming period to reduce the workload."

“We expect the workload to increase further as the crisis continues. An additional financial compensation from The Hague for universities is necessary to reduce the increased workload and compensate for all delay costs.” emphasises Hans Smits, chairman of the Executive Board.

Student concerns discussed with the minister

In a special edition of Erasmus TV, Minister Van Engelshoven and Rutger Engels discussed the welfare of students, as they are also experiencing greater study pressure and stress due to the crisis. During the broadcast, the minister answered questions from students and staff on subjects including; study delays and study financing. Minister van Engelshoven, reassured students that she is continuing to investigate appropriate measures to accommodate student concerns.

Watch the Erasmus TV episode here.