Can research be harmful?

In my speech about the challenges of academic education, which I made to mark the opening of the academic, I did not directly examine the suggestion of Education Minister Ronald Plasterk that research should be undertaken into the sustainability of our current system of higher education. This was with good reason.
It seems to me that it is the substance of education that must be our primary concern, and not the form or structure of the higher education system. “First things first”.

I have come up with the following challenges.
How can we maintain the University academic and strengthen the link between education and research, including at Bachelor’s level? How can we address the diverse range of educational requirements among our students? How can academic education be further internationalized? How can we link academic education with the needs of society and the labour market for those with a high level of education? How can we continue to provide quality and intimacy in the face of growing student numbers at academic institutions and – almost inevitably – diminishing resources.

There are a great many new initiatives to meet these challenges. For example, there is the establishment of small-scale University Colleges, programmes of excellence, Graduate Schools, the introduction of forms of selective admission and a greater focus on the first year of the study programme. On a regional basis, universities and universities of applied sciences are also working together much more to ensure that students are in the right place.
There would certainly be nothing wrong with undertaking research to determine whether these initiatives can offer any solace, how they relate to one another and what effects we might expect, not only at the level of institution but also at the national and international levels. Such a study can do no harm.
But let’s not jump to conclusions about what the findings might be, but allow ourselves to be surprised by the reality. And let’s not sound the death knell for our existing system without knowing what the alternative is. That won’t make our students any the wiser.
Research cannot do any harm, but it should not be used as a pretext for postponing investment in higher education and scientific research.