Scoop  Education

Wellington tradespeople could suffer from Weltec cost-cutting

Weltec is looking to disestablish 12 trade tutors and get the remaining tutors to move away from teaching the practical elements of their trades in workshops, to focus instead solely on classroom theory.

Weltec's review of trades delivery proposes instead that workshops will be run and supervised by much more lowly paid tutorial assistants. These tutorial assistants will be allowed to supervise workshops but not teach or assess. Trades covered by this proposal include horticulture, automotive, construction and building ,engineering and electrical and others.

TEU branch co-president Vaughan Maybury says the proposals if implemented could undermine the breadth of education that trades students currently receive.

"You can teach students the theory in a classroom, but some of the best learning that makes people good, safe tradespeople that customers can rely on, happens in real-life practical situations.  But Weltec is saying that we cannot teach or assess those moments."

"Would you want a mechanic working on your car if their tutor had never actually seen if they could hold a wrench, let alone fix an engine?"

The review, which was announced last month, is currently subject to a legal challenge from TEU. TEU organiser Phillip Dyhrberg says union members previously made numerous submissions opposing the proposal. Weltec's chief executive Dr Linda Sissons says the impetus for the review is government funding cuts and capped student funding.

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. 9000 students may lose loans next year


2. Academics need reinstatement, not pay-out


3. Student membership Bill nears end of debate


4. Britain prepares to swap fees for graduate tax


5. Other news

9000 students may lose loans next year

TVNZ reported last night that approximately 9000 students would miss out on student loans because of a new government policy that states that students who failed half their courses would not get loans.

The policy, announced in May, has surprised many students, who did not realise that it would apply to grades from 2009 as well as this year - a year before the policy was announced.

The Labour Party's tertiary education spokesperson Grant Robertson told TVNZ the policy is unfair.

"People who enrolled in 2009 enrolled under a set of rules where they weren't aware that it was going to affect their eligibility for student loans if they didn't pass."

One of New Zealand's largest polytechnics, Otago Polytechnic, said they had only just found out about the change  a few weeks ago.

Otago Polytechnic's chief executive Phil Ker said 20 percent of the polytechnic's students would not be eligible for loans next year under the new scheme.

"If only 5% choose not to study, that will be financially disastrous for us," Mr Ker said.

But tertiary education minister Steven Joyce said the government had been very clear and open about the change in student loan access back in May.

"I struggle with the fact that the chief executive of one of our larger polytechnics has not taken the time to read the changes that are there, so that's over to him, but they were clearly announced at the time," he said.

Academics need reinstatement, not pay-out

Removing reinstatement as the primary remedy for unfair dismissal will be particularly harmful for academics says TEU deputy secretary Nanette Cormack.  Ms Cormack who appeared before Parliament's Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee on Tuesday said money was not an adequate compensation for many academics with specialised areas of study given the harm that unfair dismissal would cause to their careers.

Ms Cormack was presenting TEU's submission on the government's proposed changes to the Employment Relations Act.  One of those proposed changes is to remove a clause that says that the favoured remedy for unfair dismissal is reinstatement of the fired worker to their job. Ms Cormack noted that many academics in specialised areas of study had very few places that they could seek work.  A specialist academic in agricultural sciences, for instance, cannot simply take the money and go onto another job, as there may only be one or two such jobs in the entire country.  Even if there is work available in their field it could be in an entirely different part of the country, which would mean leaving friends and relocating their family.

Ms Cormack cited previous employment disputes where academics had been reinstated after wrongfully being dismissed – and would not have been able to get work in their field elsewhere in the country.

Meanwhile, the TEU branch at Victoria University also presented their submission on this Bill and the Holidays Act Bill to the Select Committee.  Victoria University has earlier agreed during bargaining with TEU members to future-proof employees against the proposed legislation by forbidding fire-at-will 90 day trial periods, and enabling union officials easy access to the workplace as allowed for under current law. TEU's Victoria University branch submitted that while workers would be affected by the loss of basic employment rights that the bill proposed, those in less organised, low-paying jobs would be most unfairly affected.

Student membership Bill nears end of debate

The Education and Science Select Committee is due to report back to Parliament next week  on the ACT Party's Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill which would impose voluntary student membership on students' associations around New Zealand. The Committee received more than 4400 submissions, with an overwhelming 98% opposed to the Bill.

Submitters opposed to the Bill included students, many universities and polytechnics from around the country, students' associations, roopū, the Tertiary Education Union, supportive NGOs and community organisations, the Human Rights Commission, and Ako Aotearoa (National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence). As well as hearing numerous submitters in Wellington, the Committee also travelled to Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin to hear submitters.

NZUSA is describing the Bill as an ideological solution in search of a problem.  In the face of widespread opposition NZUSA Co-President Pene Delaney is challenging the National Party to abandon its support for the bill.

"National needs to consider the feedback from those in the tertiary sector at the coalface of delivering important services, facilities and representation to students. Submitters recognised the Bill is unworkable, not supported by students, would result in major new costs to Government, institutions and students, and would cause significant disruption to the sector," said Mr Delaney.

"In contrast, the few who supported the Bill were mostly confined to individuals with narrow concerns regarding just one campus. The needs and stability of the tertiary sector cannot and should not be put unnecessarily at risk on the whim of a few," said Mr Delaney.

Britain prepares to swap fees for graduate tax

The Times Higher Education Supplement reports that Britain's coalition government agreement to abolish tuition fees in England and replace them with a system closer to a graduate tax is near.  Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrats' deputy leader, says it simply needs edging "over the line".

His "belief, hope and conviction" was that fees would be scrapped whatever Lord Browne of Madingley's review of fees and funding proposes when it reports in three weeks.

Business leaders are resisting the tax however saying the competitiveness of the UK economy will be hurt.

Mr Hughes said that Vince Cable, the business secretary, had been doing "sterling work" convincing civil servants that abolition of fees was necessary to meet the Lib Dems' pre-election commitment to scrap them.

Most Lib Dem MPs signed a pre-election pledge to vote against any rise in fees put before Parliament. However, the coalition agreement with the Conservatives only allows them to abstain.

Mr Hughes said the message he was getting from inside government was that a "progressive" proposal replacing fees with a new system had almost been agreed.

The University and College Union (UCU) has said in response that if government wanted to find a progressive solution to university funding then it had to look again at ways to make sure all those who benefit from higher education pay their fair share. The union also warned that the public would not fall for student debt simply being increased and given a new name.

It said the country, students and businesses are all the beneficiaries of higher education. The country and students have contributed through state funding and tuition fees, the contribution from business has been negligible.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "[Business Secretary] Vince Cable is wrong to suggest that the only way to maintain excellence in UK higher education is through asking graduates to pay more. We believe all parties and Lord Browne need to seriously look at forcing big business to finally pay its fair share for the numerous benefits it receives from higher education.

What is your opinion – how should tertiary education be funded?

Other news

"Spending on tertiary education is being maintained at current baseline levels. We are not increasing the amount of tertiary education looking forward, because tertiary education already takes a large and significant proportion of the Government's expenditure as a percentage of economic wealth compared with other countries." – Minister of tertiary education Steven Joyce.

A group of Dunedin women artists has launched a second secret "art attack" at the University of Otago College of Education. The group, which call itself the ArTarts, planted crosses into a courtyard lawn after business hours on Monday to protest restructuring, which they say will cut art tuition to teacher trainees by 25% from next year - Otago Daily Times

The 90-day probation period should be the default for all new employees, Business New Zealand says. In a submission to parliament's transport and industrial relations committee, the business advocacy body said a probation period should be an option employees opt out of when starting a new job, rather than opt in to – NZPA

A Belfast graduate has taken his university to court after they awarded him a 2:2 degree. Andrew Croskery, from County Down, applied for a judicial review of the grade he received from Queen's University in Belfast. Mr Croskery claimed if he had received better supervision he would have obtained a 2:1, the High Court was told on Monday - BBC

With the international university rankings season underway, higher education policy-makers and leaders have criticised league tables for distorting university priorities during a major global recession. Delegates speaking at the OECD Higher Education conference in Paris last week said rankings did not help. Vice-chancellor of California State University, Charles Reed, caused a stir when he described global rankings as "a disease" – University World News

"The panel recommends that the University ensures consistent University-wide application and monitoring of the academic staff Professional Development and Review process which includes evidence on workload, research and teaching performance, and which is improvement focussed." – New Zealand Academic Audit Unit auditing the University of Canterbury.

---

TEU Tertiary Update is published weekly on Thursdays and distributed freely to members of the Tertiary Education Union and others. You can subscribe to Tertiary Update by email or feed reader. Back issues are available on the TEU website. Direct inquiries should be made to Stephen Day, email: stephen.day@teu.ac.nz

© Scoop Media

 

Culture Headlines | Health Headlines | Education Headlines