REVELATIONS ABOUT FUNDING “CLAW-BACKS”
November 6 2003
Today’s Sydney Morning Herald reveals that a report commissioned for Senior Government Ministers shows that, under proposed changes to the Higher Education policies, Universities will lose government funding for business related courses. This is no revelation to NTEU.
“The NTEU calls for the Government to release the “secret” report referred to in the SMH report immediately, and come clean as to the full impacts of the new funding arrangements on all universities” said Mr Ted Murphy, Assistant General Secretary of the NTEU.
NTEU has claimed since the announcement of the Government ‘s new funding arrangements - part of Backing Australia’s Future, that a move from current Block Operating Grants to system of funding called the Commonwealth Grants Scheme (CGS) would result in what we refer to as a “claw-back” in university funding. In a briefing paper entitled “Estimating the impact of funding changes in Backing Australia’s Future on University Operating Income”, the NTEU showed how the new funding model would result in less funding for students enrolled in courses that attracted less than average funding per student under Block Operating Grants.
We also contended and still do, that the new funding model will result in a loss in total funding to the sector relative to what would have been received under block operating grants. Therefore the actual increase in funding to the sector would be somewhat less than the $1.5b contained in Backing Australia’s Future.
“It is a critical time for all the relevant data and analyses to be made public because the legislation to implement the Government’s new policies is about to be introduced into the Senate”, Mr Murphy said.
“Senators are entitled to be informed of all of the facts in relation to the Government’s new policies and not just those the Government wishes to release”, he added.
“We call for the Senate to reject this legislation until all of the details are released and there has been sufficient time for public debate” Mr Murphy concluded.
For further information and comment:
Paul Kniest NTEU Research and Policy Officer
Ph 03 9254 1910
Attached with this release is an extract from the original NTEU Briefing Paper, which explains how the switch from Block Operating Grants to the Commonwealth Grants Scheme results in a claw back in funding.Click here for attachment