UWS Slugs Students as Nelson Drags Chain on Uni Funding Indexation
Thursday 14 April 2005
The National Tertiary Education Union is amazed and dismayed at the decision of the University of Western Sydney (UWS) Board of Trustees to increase HECS fees. Commencing students this year and in the future will pay the maximum increase of 25 per cent. This is symptomatic of the Howard government’s failure to properly index university funding.
A review of the indexation arrangements for Commonwealth funding of Universities was recently conducted by Education Minister Brendan Nelson’s Department. The real value of Commonwealth funding to universities is continuing to decline each year. The NTEU has called for an indexation system that adequately compensates universities for real increases in their operating costs.
“Staff are bitterly disappointed that the University has chosen to address its funding crisis in this way. This will have an immediate and considerable impact on the accessibility of a university education for potential students in the area which it serves” said Chris Game, Secretary of the NTEU (NSW), the Union representing 7 500 academic and general university staff in NSW and over 1000 at UWS.
“Whilst we appreciate the need of the University to address its funding crisis somehow, this option is a very poor choice” said Ms Game. “Young people in western Sydney should direct blame at the sitting Liberal MPs of western Sydney who have failed miserably in representing their interests. It is Jackie Kelly, Pat Farmer, Kerrie Bartlett and Louise Markus whose government has starved UWS of funds and forced the burden onto students. These Coalition MPs have been noticeably silent after UWS’s announcement. It is a betrayal of their constituents” she said.
"Given the Howard government's new funding formula, UWS management probably had no alternative. Staff are however upset at the posturing last year when the Vice Chancellor assured staff and the general public that fee increases were not going to occur. Indeed, in recognition of the special burden this would place on students in western Sydney, UWS staff were convinced of the need to support the decision to not charge the 25% fee premium by agreeing to lower pay outcomes. This decision also comes within days of the University announcing new expenditure plans of $100 million over the next 10 years. Both announcements come hot on the heels of the certification of the Enterprise Bargaining agreements with UWS staff."
“One of the reasons why UWS staff are so committed to the University is its role in providing educational opportunities to less well-off students in the region. UWS has now followed others in moving towards a system where one’s access to University is determined by ability to pay, rather than academic potential” concluded Ms Game.
SOME FACTS ON UNIVERSITY FUNDING
· Since 1996, real Government funding for each student place has dropped by 13%.
· The Commonwealth government now spends more on private schools than it does on Universities.
· Overall, the contribution students make to the cost of their education has almost doubled from 19.6% in 1996 to 38.0% in 2003. While students were paying more, universities received $1,740 less per student in 2003 than in 1996.
· Based on 2003 student enrolment numbers this represents a total reduction in funding of almost $750m in 2003 alone. Over the period 1996 to 2003, the cut in government expenditure to universities, when adjusted for both increases in student numbers and prices, amounts to $2.5 billion. Under the Howard Government, students are paying more for government subsidised places while universities are getting less funding for these places.
For further information or comment, contact:
Ms Chris Game, Secretary, NTEU NSW, Tel: (02) 9212 5433