If we were you, Education Minister, this is how we’d do it

All future policy and funding must be based on the understanding that an accessible, fully funded and quality tertiary education sector is a core part of people’s every day lives. That’s the advice staff working in the sector have given to the Education Minister today in a report published as part of national education conversation, Kōrero Mātauranga.

Published by the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) and given to Minister Chris Hipkins at a meeting earlier this afternoon, Voices from Tertiary Education illustrates the strong connection people studying and working in the sector have to the Government’s commitment to build a better New Zealand. Tertiary education staff are those involved in training the people who go on to play important roles in our daily lives – whether it is the builders that build our homes, the doctors or nurses that care for us, the teachers that teach our kids, the people that cut our hair and fix our cars, or those that are dedicated to ensuring we have clean running water and reliable power.

People interact with the tertiary education sector in some way every day of their lives. To support the Government in delivering on the commitments it has made – not only in education but in all other areas - TEU asked students and staff a simple question: “If you were the Minister for Education, how would you change tertiary education?” Voices from Tertiary Education is a summary of the thoughts and ideas TEU received. Today they have been presented to the Minister as part of Kōrero Mātauranga to help ensure the Government's reform of tertiary education benefits us all.

Sandra Grey, national president of the TEU, said: “One thing students and staff share in common with the Education Minister is a deep commitment to quality public education. Because of this, and the experience they have of studying and working in the sector, students and staff have the expertise to advise the Minister on what he needs to do rebuild the tertiary education sector so it equips people with the knowledge and skills we desperately need as a nation. The Minister has a great foundation from which to do this – and that’s the pride people working in the sector have in giving their students the best possible opportunity to succeed. The ideas they share in this report reflect both the dedication staff have to their students and their profession, and to creating a better future for education in New Zealand.”
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