Students associations are calling on leaders of all political parties to commit to the higher education funding review, before voting closes on Saturday.

‘This year we have seen that the way we fund universities fundamentally doesn’t work,’ says OUSA President Quintin Jane. ‘We need all political parties to commit to the higher education funding review, to ensure the long-term sustainability of our universities.’

Students and academics across the country have been calling for a review into how we fund higher education, after a small downturn in student numbers caused universities to make several hundred staff redundant.

So far, only Labour, the Green Party, and The Opportunities Party have publicly committed to proceeding with the higher education funding review after the election, with the National Party telling students associations they are ‘waiting to see the terms of reference.’

‘This is an issue that should be bi-partisan,’ says VUWSA President Jessica Ye. ‘Ensuring our tertiary education system is functioning at its highest level, and is sustainable is in the best interests of every political party.’

‘The review has provided some much needed relief to students and staff concerned about the future of their universities. To back out now would be a betrayal to the tertiary education sector.’

‘The lack of focus on tertiary education from political parties during the period of the elections,’ says Ellen Dixon, NZUSA National President, ‘evidences the failure to consider the weight of the staff cuts and current deficits across the tertiary sector.’

‘With Massey University forecasting a $50 million deficit - and Te Pukenga’s future in question following these elections - it is essential that there is political commitment by all parties to the higher education funding review. Not only should it be bi-partisan, there should also be commitment to the review’s scope and methods to understand the sector as a whole. Failure to do so now simply evidences an unwillingness on the behalf of political actors to prioritise higher education as valuable to our community.’

Currently the Ministry of Education is consulting on the scope of the review, and will be presenting a terms of reference to cabinet in December. We call on whichever parties are in government to commit to the review as presented by the Ministry, to ensure the most fair, free, and transformative review possible.

© Scoop Media