David Shearer

National’s squeeze on tertiary funding is having real consequences for our universities, our students and the future of our economy, says Labour’s spokesperson for Tertiary Education David Shearer.

“Our major universities have slipped backwards according to the latest QS World University Rankings with none making it into the top 50 globally,” David Shearer said.

“In 2007 Auckland University was ranked 50th, it’s now ranked 68th; Otago University was once 79th now it comes in at 135. Our universities are slipping thanks to a government with no foresight and no plan.

“The last two Budgets have failed to keep university funding in line with rising demand, costs and inflation, and this year things are set to get even harder as tuition funding to tertiary institutions is decreased.

“Auckland University’s Vice Chancellor, Stuart McCutcheon, recently stated that the government’s ‘reluctance to invest properly in university education and research will do little to take New Zealand forward as a modern innovative economy’. I agree.

“Universities can’t absorb rising enrolments and rising costs forever and it’s clear that they are now forced to make hard choices about staff numbers, courses and quality.

“It’s vital that our universities are providing young New Zealanders with the best possible education and opportunities so we as a country are able to compete in an increasingly high skilled and competitive world.

“Steven Joyce has no such vision. His contribution so far has been to effectively decrease overall funding to universities – a policy that will continue to lower the quality of our top-flight institutions and limit the number of students able to get into them.

“Tertiary education is the engine room of our future economy, we should invest in it so we can grow strongly out of this recession and build better jobs with higher incomes,” David Shearer said.