Auckland, February 22, 2018
The Government recently released details of its education portfolio Work Programme for the next three years.
Universities New Zealand (formerly known as Vice-Chancellors’ Committee) has welcomed the publication, saying that it has come at an important time for a system under pressure from a long-term decline in real per-student funding.
The following is a Statement issued by Universities New Zealand (UNZ) Chair and University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon:
The last major reform of New Zealand’s education system was in 1989.
Though the system has been tinkered with many times since then, it is still organised as it was back in 1989, despite massive changes in society from factors such as technology and globalisation.
Uniform View
We welcome the release of the Work Programme, as it gives further clarity to the sector about the government’s policy programme and the timeframes for the changes it wants to make. We agree with the government that the system is not currently serving students and New Zealand as a whole as well as it could be and does not provide clear guidance and career planning for young people as they transition to adulthood.
However, we are looking forward to working with the government to improve our education system, particularly around improving outcomes for Maori and Pasifika learners, improving the transition from school to the workforce, and the review of research funding and the Performance-Based Research (PBRF) system.
Increased Investment
“If the government’s plan is to succeed, it must also commit to increased investment in the quality of teaching and research. Raising quality is the key to unlocking the potential of the whole system.”
Universities New Zealand Executive Director, Chris Whelan said, “For our eight universities, the most important issue continues to be that they are underfunded for the tuition they provide to students. New Zealand’s funding for universities lags behind the OECD average, and is on a par with countries such as Slovenia, Spain, and Estonia.
Tribute to Universities
“It is a tribute to our universities that they are all still ranked within the world’s top 500, delivering teaching and research that competes with countries like Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which all receive 30-90% more funding per student.
“In addition to the work programme announced today, the government must increase its investment in New Zealand’s universities if it is to truly achieve the goals it has set for itself and avoid further erosion of a system that is stretched to its limit.”
“We need this work programme to produce real results for the university sector and for New Zealand. We cannot afford to settle for another round of talkfests with no action.”
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