Tertiary sector bogged in bureaucracy

new-zealand-national-party

Wed Jan 31 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Tertiary sector bogged in bureaucracy

Wednesday, 31 January 2007, 1:27 pm
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Dr Paul Hutchison MP
National Party Tertiary Education Spokesman

31 January 2007

An OECD report into New Zealand’s tertiary system has found it is overly complicated and complex, and imminent reforms are likely to fail, says National’s Tertiary Education spokesman, Dr Paul Hutchison.

The report highlights a sector bogged down in paperwork and struggling to conform to bureaucratic demands.

“The list of agencies involved is huge, starting with the MoE, TEC, NZQA and the Careers Service, followed by the Teachers Council, MSD, IRD, MoRST, DoL and NZVCC.

“All of these organisations are independently producing strategies, plans and various other documents.

“This sector has to comply with onerous requirements and produce meaningless documents just to conform.

"The review team says: 'Current practices with the charter and profiles raise doubt as to whether they are used to their fullest potential, as the overall process does appear to emanate a certain ‘barrenness’: process seems to prevail over content'.

“The authors identify the high transaction costs involved in complying with the numerous bureaucratic processes and say 'institutions seem to gain little extra value from the current audit system'.

“Despite a self-congratulatory statement yesterday from the Tertiary Education Minister, Michael Cullen, the review actually says the Government’s proposed reforms, which will implement more central control over the sector, are naïve and likely to fail.

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The review team says: 'We are left with the distinct impression that there has been some under-estimation of what it takes at the agency level to effectively and efficiently engage in steering the tertiary education sector'.

“Last week the National Party revealed the Tertiary Education Commission would spend $8 million on a restructure this year, just four years after the organisation was established.

“This week we have a report that confirms our view that the sector is bogged in bureaucracy and the students and institutions that need precious funds are playing second fiddle to the desires of Wellington bureaucracy.

“Rather than congratulating himself on the findings of the OECD report, the Minister should be demanding his officials put an end to the needless systems and processes that are weighing down the sector.”

ENDS

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