That things were not going well at Codarts, Rotterdam's University of the Arts, was already known. Board chairman Jikkie van der Giessen had to step down in 2011 after a cesspit had opened of malpractice, nepotism and suspicions of outright fraud. The case was already largely settled, but the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science's inspectorate still wanted to know how much money was involved. Well: 175,000 euros was what the case cost: 25,370 euros unlawfully, and 150,000 euros of taxpayers' money spent inefficiently.
In her summary letter at the research sums up culture minister Jet Bussemaker:
- a relative of the chairman of the Executive Board received a total of €20,000 based on fictitious documents. This payment is unlawful;
- for a personal course, undertaken without employment with Codarts and not on Codarts' instructions, costs of €5,370 were reimbursed to a family member of the chairman of the Board of Directors. This payment is unlawful;
- To supervise a study career programme at Codarts, an external organisation was hired - without requesting several quotes in advance - for an amount of €150,000. This payment is inefficient.
175,000 euros is obviously not a 10 million bonus to a failing bank manager, but still. The rotten culture at the top at such a large art college is foul. The dismissed chief executive concerned has since repaid the overpayment. Reason for the minister to give her an official kick in the derriere with a hefty reprimand, but nothing more.
She herself puts it this way:
"I find the facts found by the inspectorate very serious. However, there are no grounds for imposing sanctions on Codarts. As for the unlawful payments, these have since been repaid by the person concerned. Also in connection with the inefficiency found (study pathway), I am not imposing a sanction, partly on the advice of the inspectorate."
So guys: never do it again! Not even in Arnhem.
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