Joyce a By-stander as students are locked out

Steven Joyce’s plans for performance funding for tertiary institutions runs the risk of being an exercise in compliance rather than helping develop quality tertiary education, Labour’s spokesperson for Tertiary Education Grant Robertson said today.

“These latest funding plans will do little to improve the performance of most of our institutions and for those that are struggling it may result in them lowering standards in order to achieve more course completions.

“We all want to see high performing tertiary institutions that are using taxpayer funding well. There is merit in working with institutions to ensure they have high standards. The Question is will the criteria the Minister has proposed deliver on that?

“But this latest announcement is creating yet another sideshow to the real issue that there is a fundamental change taking place in terms of access to tertiary education in New Zealand.

“Changes to university funding, student loans and training incentive allowances have created barriers aimed at holding back New Zealanders from furthering their education.

“Students will find themselves locked out of Universities and Polytechnics next year as a result of funding changes. The Polytechnic sector alone has had to absorb $70 million worth of funding cuts.

“At the same time this Government has cut funding to tertiary institutions; Australia has invested $1 billion into higher education. It is a cruel irony that while Australian tertiary institutions are working out how to get people into higher education our universities are working on how to keep people out.

“We need to invest in tertiary education for the good of our future. Tertiary education should be the engine room of the economy, but instead the government seems to see it as a sector to extract money from,” said Grant Robertson.

ENDS

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