Steven Joyce, the minister of education, in his recently released cabinet papers outlining his tertiary education initiatives for this year’s budget, says that demand for tertiary education is expected to remain high for 2011 and beyond.

This contradicts his recent public statements that the current boom in students will be short-lived and demand will fall away soon.

In his cabinet paper Mr Joyce notes:

“The recession has increased demand for tertiary education in 2009 and 2010, and the increased demand is forecast to remain high in 2011 and beyond. At the same time the current funded baseline of places at ITPs and universities decreases from its current level in 2011.”

However, last month Mr Joyce told Parliament’s Education and Science Select Committee that demand for tertiary education study is likely to fall away in 2011 as the recession eases. He argued also that tightening access to student loans would reduce demand for tertiary education next year.

TEU president Dr Tom Ryan says that the discrepancy is important because it impacts upon the government’s duty to adequately fund public tertiary education.

“The public impression that Mr Joyce has been giving is that this increase in demand is a short term thing that we can ride out. But his cabinet paper seems to suggest that this is not the case,” said Dr Ryan. “If demand is going to remain high, as the minister says in his until recently confidential cabinet paper, then suppressing funding will deny able students the chance to study.”