Education is one of the issues that almost always gets a mention in election campaigns, even one that has been dominated by ‘dirty politics’ and arguments over the gap between rich and poor. A Roy Morgan poll at the end of May found that for three per cent of people, education is the “most important problem facing New Zealand right now” – behind economic issues, social issues and human rights issues.
Photo: Hadley Donaldson
The cost of education, the quality of education, whether that will lead to some kind of employment are the questions that dominate the tertiary education sector. The Green Party got out of the gates quickly in this campaign, aiming for the student vote with a Student Green Card that would give tertiary students and apprentice free off-peak travel.
The Internet Mana alliance is promising free tertiary education and says it will stop the growth of student debt by increasing the earnings threshold that triggers student loan repayments. The Labour Party plans to set up 10 centres of vocational excellence by the end of its first term, and will review the student support system. New Zealand First is pledging a universal student allowance, a dollar-for-dollar debt repayment scheme for graduates in certain industries, and review the student loan and support schemes.
The Maori Party wants to lift tertiary access, encouraging more young Maori to participate in tertiary education. It is supporting a New Zealand University Students Association initiative whereby people who are the first in their whanau to attend university receive a fee free scholarship to pursue a Bachelor level qualification. The party also supports the reinstatement of student allowances that were scrapped in 2012. United Future wants to see New Zealand universities improve their rankings. It would also introduce a zero-fees policy for tertiary education in New Zealand in place of student allowances.
The ACT party would remove all price controls on tuition fees for tertiary institutions, re-introduce interest on student loans, and wants improve the information available to students.
Radio New Zealand’s education correspondent, John Gerritsen, writes that institutions' performance has improved in terms of the number of students completing their courses and qualifications. “But staff are complaining about increasingly difficult working conditions, and students say relentless tightening of student loan and allowance criteria are shutting more and more people out of tertiary study.”
Another controversial issue has been a bill which cuts the councils of universities and wanaga to 12 members at the most, and remove the statutory right of staff, students and alumni to council seats while increasing the influence of ministerial appointees. The bill has been opposed by Labour, the Greens, and New Zealand First, and university bosses called MPs attitude to the submissions on the bill “dismissive and cavalier”.
For more information on the issues in the tertiary education sector check out this chart from the NZUSA.
In a speech to the Higher Education Summit in March, the Tertiary Education Minister, National’s Steven Joyce said New Zealand’s success as a country over the next 20 years will be determined by our level of connectedness with the rest of the world. Joyce signalled a new push towards encouraging tertiary institutions, particularly universities towards what he called “outcomes-based education”.
It is of course true that universities are the “critic and conscience” of society. And it is important that they have academic independence and I will continue to defend those principles as Minister. But we have to guard against those two principles being used as an excuse not to direct resources to where they are needed within the sector….The reality is that the vast majority of students who go to university do so to get a ticket to a well-paying job and science, technology and engineering are big growth areas in the New Zealand economy. In the years ahead, we need more explicit co-operation between industry and tertiary organisations on meeting skill demands.
Joyce also heralded the creation of the New Zealand apprenticeships, and said over 10,000 apprentices have already taken advantage of the reboot scheme, with 67 per cent being in priority construction trades. He said that the Government has set a target that 55 per cent of 25–34 year olds will have a Level 4 qualification, or higher, by 2017.
The Labour Party last month announced a $180 million package to get unemployed young people into work or training, by the end of its first term. The package will focus on people under 20 and includes initiatives such as apprenticeship subsidies and increased funding for secondary school's career guidance.
If you’d like to see some of the parties’ policies, you can find them here: National Party; Labour Party; New Zealand First; Mana; Maori Party; Green Party; United Future; ACT Party; Conservative Party and the Internet Party. You can ask the politicans directly at Ask Away, and find our full election coverage here.
