GOVERNMENT REVIEW OF UNI INDEXATION A ‘REAL’ WHITEWASH
April 20, 2005
The Minister for Education, Dr Brendan Nelson, yesterday released his Department’s report of the review of indexation arrangements for the higher education sector. The Minister’s response to the review was that “after considering the findings of the report…. there is no strong case for a change to the current indexation arrangements at this time.”
“This review and the Government’s response is nothing short of a whitewash,” said Mr Grahame McCulloch, General Secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
“The reason the Minister found nothing in the report’s findings to change Government policy is because the report fails to address issues relevant to indexation for the higher education sector.”
“The fundamental question in relation to any review of higher education indexation is whether the value of Government grants to universities has kept pace with inflation and other cost increases. This issue is not addressed in the review,” said Mr McCulloch.
“NTEU estimates show that between 1996 and 2003 the real, or inflation adjusted, value of government funding for government-supported university students fell by over $1,700 per student. This a 13% real cut in government funding and was equal to a shortfall of almost $800m to Australia’s universities in 2003.”
“In order to compensate for the failure of Government funding to keep up with costs, Australian universities have been forced to find alternative sources of income such as increasing domestic student fees and increasing international student numbers.”
“Failure to properly index Government university funding will not only continue to shift the cost of attending Australian public universities onto students and their families, but has the potential to threaten the quality of university education in this country.”
“This review demonstrates that the Minister is not even prepared to undertake a meaningful review of the funding issues confronting higher education, let alone considering changes in indexation policy and is surely a sign of the Government’s growing arrogance,” he concluded.
For further information and comment:
Paul Kniest, Policy and Research Officer, Ph: (03) 9254 1910