New Law Silences Student Voice

The Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA) is disappointed with last night's passage of the Education Amendment Bill (No 2), labelling it an arrogant move by Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce.

The Bill drastically cuts the size of University and Wānanga Councils from 20 to 12, and removes the right for staff and students to be represented on the governing bodies of their institutions.

"The tertiary sector has been united in its opposition to the changes, with Vice Chancellors, academics, students and even the Government's own officials raising concerns about the proposals," VUWSA President Rick Zwaan says.

Only 1 out of 1600 submissions to the Education and Science Select Committee supported reducing the size of University Councils.

"Students now have no say over the education they themselves are annually borrowing more and more for, whilst the Government continues to contribute less and less."

Student debt is expected to hit 16 billion dollars in 2014. Meanwhile, New Zealand Universities also slid in international rankings. There is no evidence that reducing council sizes will change that. On the other hand, there is clear evidence that larger councils, with representation, relates to higher performing universities.

“Having Student and staff representation is vital to ensuring that they are accountable to the people that fund them - students and taxpayers” concludes Zwaan.

ENDS

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