Stop tinkering and get serious.

Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union says this morning’s announced tweaks to university strategy and oversight are useful but do little to address the real problem – that decades of underfunding has handicapped Aotearoa universities’ ability to deliver for our students and our economy.

Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey welcomes the apparent alignment between Minister Reti and the University Advisory Group, whose report was also released this morning, on the need for a more coordinated and strategic approach to the university system as a whole. “It’s sensible and appropriate for a country and economy our size to encourage collaboration and coordination instead of competition and duplication.”

“However it’s disappointing that the proposed ‘University Strategy Group’ is unlikely to have any educators at the decision-making table, and we are once again troubled by an initiative from this government that, like too many others, places more power in the hands of a Minister.”

“And while the proposed PBRF replacement – a Tertiary Research Excellence Fund – will likely be an improvement, deep caution and scepticism should always be applied to any system that only values things that can be measured.”

“It is encouraging to see the Minister seemingly reluctant to adopt some of the more elitist tendencies of the UAG report – such as the suggestion that universities should turn more students away. Education is for everyone.”

“But ultimately, none of this makes much of a difference without serious investment. Universities cannot deliver the futures our students deserve and the research our country needs on the smell of an oily rag. It’s time to stop tinkering and get serious.”