UNIVERSITY of New England vice-chancellor Annabelle Duncan says there needs to be much wider consultation on any reforms to the tertiary sector to ensure regional universities don’t face the threats they did under the Abbott government’s proposals.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Professor Duncan was in Melbourne for Thursday’s speech by new education minister Simon Birmingham that signalled the end of contentious university reforms that had twice failed to get past the Senate under former minister, Christopher Pyne.
Included in the proposed legislation were the deregulation of university fees and government funding cuts of 20 per cent.
Senator Birmingham said the government was “accepting reality” that the reforms would not pass the Senate and would now begin a fresh round of consultation.
Professor Duncan said she was “relieved” by the ann- ouncement, having been a vocal opponent of the proposed reforms, and noted the new minister’s acknowledgement of the intrinsic relationship between a thriving society and the quality of its educational opportunities.
She and other regional university leaders argued the de- regulation of fees would disadvantage smaller institutions that couldn’t raise their fees by enough to cover the proposed cuts to course funding.
Professor Duncan said she was “optimistic” after hearing Senator Birmingham that the government would consult more widely than it had previously and “actually listen” to the tertiary sector.
“I’m very happy because he’s committed to consult ... which is a very good move because there just wasn’t enough consultation before,” she said.
That consultation needed to include smaller universities and the minister “needs to be able to devote the time to get out into the regions”.
Professor Duncan said it seemed fee deregulation was not off the table entirely, but she’s hopeful a “fairer and more equitable” proposal will eventuate.
The previous proposal “discriminated” against the likes of UNE’s student population, she said, which has a larger percentage of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and a higher percentage of mature age students who were more likely to have a degree of debt already.
Any reforms also had to recognise regional university students, as opposed to their metropolitan counterparts, usually had to move away to study, racking up additional accommodation costs before they even started accumulating study debt.
“We have to fight for regional universities and make sure people understand just how different it is for students,” Professor Duncan said.
