Students, along with teachers, are most closely connected to education: they are the experts. Their involvement and participation in the process of executing topics of education policy is a fundamental condition for good education. This is why it is of importance that educational institutions and legal frameworks are organised in such a way that students have participation on every level: on the level of the organisation of higher education in the Netherlands, on the level of the educational institution and on the levels ranging from the facilities to the education programme. Furthermore, a student’s involvement and participation contribute to the enhancement of the checks and balances within an institution.
Involvement and participation need to be connected as closely as possible to education and the student. This will allow for a discourse on education built on experience of students and teachers. The guiding principle is that the centre of involvement and participation always has the closest possible proximity to education and the students, unless it cannot but be dealt with at higher institutional levels. Involvement and student participation contribute to the development of the critical thinking of the student, and enable them to ensure that educational institutions meet the values and requirements that the LSVb deems worthy to strive towards.
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