Education Ministers Meeting Must Strenthen Public Stake in the Governing of Universities
October 11, 2002
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) believes that measures to preserve the place of staff and students on the governing bodies of Australia’s 38 public universities should be a major focus for discussion when Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers meet in Ballarat, Victoria, Friday as part of the Federal Government’s higher education review.
“The good governance of our universities is about transparency and public accountability as well as economic and administrative efficiency,” said Grahame McCulloch, NTEU General Secretary. “Increased commercialisation has seen universities increasingly adopt corporate models of governance, including smaller, more industry oriented governing bodies.”
“Over the period 1995 to 2000, 21 universities reduced the size and composition of their university governing bodies. While the largest reduction was in ministerial appointments and parliamentarians, 29% of all abolished positions involved university staff. This has contributed to a corresponding reduction in the transparency and accountability of university operations.”
“To argue that staff and students should be replaced by ‘experts’ misses the point. Staff and students not only bring vital community linkages to their roles on governing bodies, but considerable experience by virtue of their knowledge of the university they work or study in.”
“The NTEU would urge the higher education review to be wary about pushing universities to blindly adopt corporate governance models, especially in the light of significant problems experienced with the behavior of some of Australia’s leading corporations over the past 12 months and the broader governance issues raised by the collapse of leading companies in the United States.”
“While the Federal Government is responsible for most university funding, the States and Territories are responsible for their legislative regulation,” said McCulloch. “This makes the meeting of Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers at the University of Ballerat on Friday, a good opportunity to address this issue.”
“The NTEU would encourage the Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers to develop a national protocol to ensure staff and students continue to be represented on university governing bodies.”
For information and comment:
Grahame McCulloch, NTEU General Secretary, 0418 322 620
Andrew Nette, NTEU Policy and Research Coordinator, 0438026277