The government should compensate tertiary institutions if it is intent on introducing voluntary student membership, says TEU national president Dr Tom Ryan.

His comments follow the Education Select Committee’s support for the Act Party’s Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. Student leaders are lobbying National Party MPs to use their final vote on the bill to support the 98 percent of submitters, including institutions, staff, and students who opposed the bill, rather than follow the select committee’s recommendation.

Dr Ryan says that for tertiary institutions there are really only two possible outcomes from voluntary student membership.

“Either those institutions will start offering all or most of the services that students’ associations now offer, and also accrue the cost of running those services; or they won’t pick up those services, which will mean less pastoral care, cultural atmosphere, and community support, which can only translate as harder time for students and the staff that are trying to teach them. Either way, if the government wants tertiary institutions to pay for more services, or to have a tougher job teaching students with less pastoral care and social support, it should compensate tertiary institutions.”

Dr Ryan said it was disappointing that the Education Select Committee had recommended the Bill be passed, because the ideology on each side of the debate is irrelevant when compared to the likely impact of the bill on students, staff, and tertiary institution communities.

“It also makes a mockery of the government’s recent decision that from here on the TEC must regularly publish indicators of student learning performance at each tertiary institution. There can be no doubt that student learning performance generally is going to suffer once the effects of the VSM Bill kick in. Only compensation from government to institutions is going to avert that.”