NTEU welcomes the AVCC's push for public investment...but concerns about managing access remain
1 December 2000
The National Tertiary Education Union, representing approximately 25,000 staff in Australian universities, welcomes the strong arguments for a $1billion increase in public investment in higher education made by the AVCC in its discussion paper Our Universities: Our Future. (AVCC site)
`This is a very positive contribution to the debate about how we can ensure that our higher education system meets the needs and aspirations of Australians,’ said NTEU President Dr Carolyn Allport. `By rejecting voucher-based funding models and top-up fees for Australian students, the Vice-Chancellors are clearly rejecting the agenda for radical deregulation set out in Minister David Kemp’s leaked Cabinet submission.’
` Our universities are facing a crisis in resources, which cannot be resolved without a substantial boost in public investment. It is timely and appropriate that the leaders of those universities should join the groundswell of voices calling for Government to take proper responsibility for the management of a national asset.’
However, Dr Allport said that she was disappointed by the paper’s endorsement of further fee deregulation, saying that it would create problems in relation to ensuring access to universities was available for all who could benefit from it.
`A high quality, accessible university system should not depend on student fees,’ she said. `Students are not the goose that lays the golden egg – they are an important investment in our future.’
`A loans scheme won’t solve problems of access and fairness,’ she continued. `Such loans schemes have to be underwritten by somebody, and are consequently likely to attract a real interest rate.’
` I understand that not all universities are pursuing a fee deregulation agenda. I urge Vice-Chancellors to throw their weight behind the cogent arguments for public investment contained in this paper, and not put their faith in measures that will further increase the sector’s reliance on private funding and reduce opportunities for Australian students.’