Careful thought needed on proposed law school

new-zealand-national-party

Thu Oct 25 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Careful thought needed on proposed law school

Thursday, 25 October 2007, 12:23 am
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Dr Paul Hutchison MP
National Party Tertiary Education Spokesman

25 October 2007

The tentative approval for a new law school in Auckland needs careful consideration before it becomes reality, says National’s Tertiary Education spokesman, Paul Hutchison.

The Council of Legal Education this week approved an application by AUT to offer a law degree, saying it met its criteria for educational merit. However, the proposal now has to go to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and the Minister to decide if there is a demand for another law school and if such a school should receive public funding.”

There are already law schools at Auckland, Waikato, Victoria, Canterbury and Otago universities.

“Unless the arguments are extremely compelling it is hard to imagine why a country of four million people needs a 6th law school. It is difficult to see how AUT will convince TEC that such a project is deserving of public funding.

“TEC will need to give serious thought to whether this project should be a priority or whether tertiary funds would be better utilised in another speciality or a different region.

“TEC’s reform of the tertiary sector has emphasised ‘quality, relevance and value for money’.

“This is a prime example of where those criteria should be met.”

Ends

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