Hon Bill English National Party Education Spokesman

25 May 2005

Labour Govt overrides $200 million commission

Confidential plans for changes in tertiary funding demonstrate that even Labour believes the $200 million Tertiary Education Commission has been a huge waste of taxpayer dollars, says National's Education spokesman, Bill English.

"The Tertiary Education Commission was meant to control and direct billions of dollars spent on tertiary education, but instead has overseen huge wastage on low quality and uncompleted courses," says Mr English.

"While Labour are publicly defending education bureaucrats, behind closed doors they are looking at plans to bypass the TEC because it has been so ineffective.

"Education Minister Trevor Mallard has plans to cut polytechnic funding by scrapping community education programmes over the next few years and dropping all short courses unless they are paid for by the industry.

"While he is defending his bureaucrats in public, behind closed doors he is trying to wriggle out of the embarrassment of Steve Maharey's grand but failed plans for tertiary education," says Mr English.

ENDS

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