Groningen University and the city council issued a joint statement on Thursday calling for an end to the initiation rituals which first year students go through to join a student club.

Yesterday it emerged a male student had been hospitalised after he was hit over the head during rites to join the Vindicat association in the city. In another incident, association members circulated a list of 22 female students with scores for their performances ‘between the sheets’.

On Wednesday the university said the incidents were an internal matter for the association itself, which led education minister Jet Bussemaker to intervene. She described the university’s initial reaction as ‘completely insufficient’.

It also transpired that students have to sign a gagging agreement before starting the initiation process and can be fined €25,000 if they go public with their experiences.

Now the university, the city’s hbo college and the council have called for a change in club culture and an end to the rituals. ‘The recent events are completely unacceptable and we condemn them utterly,’ they said in a statement.