International Comparison Reveals Australian Universities Under Funded and Overcrowded
October 1 2002
A draft Productivity Commission report into the resourcing of tertiary education internationally confirms that Australia’s universities are under funded and overcrowded.
The report, University Resourcing: Australia in an International Context, reveals that Australia is spending a declining proportion on higher education compared with competing nations amid a blow-out in student to staff ratios in Australian tertiary institutions.
The report says that total expenditure on universities in Australia has fallen from 1.7% of GDP in 1993 to a current level of 1.4%, putting us behind the United States, New Zealand, Sweden and Canada. In the same period, New Zealand increased its spending on higher education from 1.5% to 2.5% of GDP.
“While caution needs to be exercised in comparing different types of institutions in different countries, the overall trend identified by the Productivity Commission is that Australia spends less in the vital area of higher education while our overseas competitors are spending more,” said Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President.
“At the same time, Australian students and their families contribute a higher proportion of university funding than anyone else except their counterparts in American private universities.”
The Productivity Commission’s report also highlights an alarming growth in the ratio of students to staff members in our universities.
Student to staff ratios are rising in Australia compared with the United States and Canada, the only countries for which comparable data was available.
“Halfway through the third major review of the higher education sector in the last five years there is one thing nearly everyone agrees on, that our universities need more funding,” said Dr Allport. “This is a consensus which now appears to be supported by the findings of the draft Productivity Commission report.”
“Having commissioned this report as part of his review, Education Minister Brendan Nelson should now act on its findings. It is not too late in the process for the Government to explore avenues for increasing the dollars provided to higher education from sources other than students and their families.”
For information and comment:
Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU President: 03 9254 1910
Andrew Nette, NTEU Policy and Research Coordinator:
03 9254 1910, 0438 026277