Australian opposition promises more university places

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.

john.ross@ws-2000.com