Govt Must Address Funding Issues

The government must accept responsibility for the troubles being faced at Victoria University and address the effect of a decade of under-funding if the quality and diversity of education is to be maintained, according to Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association President Chris Hipkins.

“It is inevitable that jobs will be lost as part of Victoria University’s Deficit Reduction Project and this will certainly have an impact on the quality of the teaching and research carried out within the University. If you have less staff taking on greater workloads, students will suffer,” Mr. Hipkins said.

“The University is caught between a rock and a hard place. The government insists they must break even, and yet the funding provided is inadequate,”

“While we welcome the relief that this years fee freeze has given students, we also acknowledge the pressure that this has placed the University under. The extra funding from the Government doesn’t even keep up with inflation, let alone do anything to rectify the problems that have accumulated over the past decade,” Chris Hipkins said.

Mr Hipkins called on the Government to make a review of tertiary funding an urgent priority for the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission (TEAC) and increase the amount of money provided to universities as soon as possible.

“Ultimate responsibility for the state of the tertiary sector rests with the Government, and unless they are willing to step in soon we will continue to short-change generations of New Zealanders,” Mr Hipkins concluded.

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FOR FURTHER COMMENT CONTACT:

Chris Hipkins, VUWSA President
Phone (04) 473 8566 ext 830
Mobile (021) 707 927
Email: chris.hipkins@vuw.ac.nz

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