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MEDIA RELEASE
STATES AND TERRITORIES AGREE TO WORK WITH COMMONWEALTH ON
GOVERNANCE AND UNIVERSITY PLACES
11 July, 2003 MINCO 8/03
The States and Territories and the Commonwealth will work
together to develop a mechanism to distribute university places and
reform governance in universities.
State and Territory Ministers meeting today in Perth for the
Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth
Affairs (MCEETYA) agreed to the Commonwealth’s proposal to progress
four key policies relating to the Government’s higher education
reform package.
The States and Territories agreed to work with the Commonwealth:
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on national governance
protocols to develop best practice in university governance
arrangements;
-
on a mechanism to
distribute new university places;
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to further streamline
university reporting and compliance arrangements, including
developing a common approach to regulatory arrangements relating
to commercial powers of universities; and
-
to promote
collaboration between the higher education sector and
business/industry and other education sectors, including national
arrangements for articulation and credit transfer between higher
education and vocational education and training.
I welcome the decision by my State and Territory colleagues to
pursue these four critically important issues.
I hope that the outcome of this work will be prompt and will
deliver the changes the university sector needs and wants. The
Government’s recently announced $1.5 billion higher education reform
package includes:
-
an additional $404
million in base funding for universities;
-
$122 million over four
years to support regional campuses;
-
$121 million in
additional funding to support the practical component of teaching
and nursing programmes;
-
approximately 25,000
fully-funded places to replace marginally-funded places;
-
more than 6,500 new
fully-funded places for universities over the next five years,
including for medicine, teaching and nursing;
-
$161 million in
scholarships to assist students with their education and
accommodation costs;
-
$188 million to support
teaching and learning in universities, including a National
Institute for Learning and Teaching;
-
two new loan schemes to
assist those students who choose to pay the full cost of their
education, and those wanting to spend a semester or two studying
overseas;
-
$22 million to support
a range of equity initiatives, including funding for indigenous
students, students with disabilities and those from disadvantaged
backgrounds;
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$27 million per year to
support workplace productivity in universities; and
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$36 million to support
collaboration and structural reform.
We cannot afford to delay reform of our universities and I look
forward to State and Territory Ministers sending this message to
their Federal colleagues who seem so intent on blocking the
necessary change and funding that must be provided to our
universities.
Media Contact:
Dr Nelson’s Office: Ross Hampton 0419 484 095
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