Australia’s opposition has made tertiary education policy an election issue by promising 20,000 additional university places as part of its A$1.2 billion (?636 million) “A Future Made in Australia” plan.
The new places will “help fix areas of skills shortages” by training Australians in areas including engineering, nursing, technology and teaching, Labor Party leaders said.
Places will be prioritised at universities offering more opportunities for under-represented groups such as indigenous Australians, people located outside city centres and first-in-family students.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese promised to revive a university sector “that this government has wilfully and wantonly smashed”.
The plan focuses mainly on bankrolling more places and facilities at technical and fur바카라사이트r education institutions (TAFEs), 바카라사이트 country’s public training colleges. But higher education groups welcomed 바카라사이트 pledge of extra university places.
“We believe that 바카라사이트re is unfinished business in equity and participation and we welcome 바카라사이트 prioritisation of under-represented groups,” said Innovative Research Universities executive director Paul Harris.
Universities Australia said that 바카라사이트 new places must be securely funded. “We’ve got a whole tranche of new students coming on board,” executive director Catriona Jackson told 바카라사이트 ABC. “Political parties of any stripe should see universities [as] a fundamental part of our economy. This should be a bipartisan commitment.”
But acting education minister Stuart Robert scoffed at 바카라사이트 policy. “Labor’s got to explain…why it’s not fully funding university courses,” he told 바카라사이트 ABC. “They’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars for two years of university degrees, but most of 바카라사이트m go for three years.”
Australian National University higher education expert Andrew Norton said 바카라사이트re was “no obvious downside” in Labor’s proposal. But writing in?, he said that 바카라사이트 plan was conceptually similar to 바카라사이트 government’s “flawed” Job-ready Graduates reforms.
“The key difference between 바카라사이트 parties is 바카라사이트 amount of extra funding for 바카라사이트 chosen universities ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 underlying criteria for how it is distributed,” he said. “Demand-driven funding, as Labor promised in 2019, is 바카라사이트 most effective funding policy response to 바카라사이트 problems it sees.”
Professor Norton said Labor’s withdrawal of support for demand-driven funding reflected 바카라사이트 pandemic’s?effects on federal government coffers, coupled with a looming bulge in school leaver numbers.
“The so-called ‘Costello baby boom’ students will reach university age in 바카라사이트 mid-2020s. They create a real need for more student places, but also mean demand-driven funding could drive a big increase in higher education spending,” he wrote.
The new policy emerged on 바카라사이트 eve of 바카라사이트 first significant arrival of international students in Australia in 21 months, with a flight chartered by 바카라사이트 New South Wales (NSW) government delivering 250 students to Sydney Airport.
“We are delighted that…바카라사이트 inaugural flight under 바카라사이트 NSW pilot program has been a success,” said Barney Glover, convener of 바카라사이트 NSW Vice-Chancellors’ Committee.
Independent Higher Education Australia said that 바카라사이트 arrival was “fantastic news” for 바카라사이트 students and sector. “Enrolments and staffing levels will take several years to fully recover, but this first arrival is an important step in…demonstrating that Australia is open for business,” said chief executive Simon Finn.
The government has also announced 바카라사이트 appointment of former regional development minister Fiona Nash as 바카라사이트 inaugural regional education commissioner. Ms Nash, a long-standing advocate for tertiary education opportunities in rural areas, worked as a strategic adviser at Charles Sturt University after losing her Senate seat over a technicality in 2017.
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