Cuts in spending on higher education cannot be ruled out as part of the government’s efforts to get state spending under control, education minister Ronald Plasterk told MPs on Wednesday.

But Plasterk said he would wait for formal recommendations from the 20 government commissions looking at all areas of government spending before reaching any conclusions.
One option under consideration is the far-reaching reform of student funding, which has already led to widespread student protests.
Last week, foreign affairs minister Maxime Verhagen said he would not agree to cuts in defence spending and home affairs minister Guusje ter Horst made similar statements about the police.
The mayor’s of the country’s four big cities have also called on the government to rule out cuts in spending on education.