Equity of access to study must be protected
new-zealand-labour-party
Mon Jan 11 2010 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Equity of access to study must be protected
Monday, 11 January 2010, 4:33 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
11 January 2009
Media Statement
Equity of access to tertiary study must be protected
Equitable access to tertiary institutions is a cornerstone of New Zealand’s education system and must be protected alongside the promotion of excellence, says Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson Maryan Street.
Maryan Street was commenting on concerning weekend reports that universities are considering abandoning policies of automatic entry for people over 20 and intend ejecting many more under-performing students.
“The Government has failed to properly fund universities at a time when a more highly skilled workforce should be our top priority. In light of its so-called productivity drive and record youth unemployment it should have lifted the cap on student numbers. But it is instead tightening the screws and universities are now being forced to exclude more and more students.
“Labour supports the drive for excellence in universities and the push for higher level qualifications and improved completion rates. We shouldn’t be sending students to university to fail,” Maryan Street said.
“But our first priority must be to ensure less advantaged young people retain access to university and that when there, they are supported to succeed – rather than locking them out to keep costs down.
“Proper bridging and other support programmes have been shown to make a big difference to tertiary performance, yet the Government is showing no leadership in encouraging this investment.
“The promotion of excellence must be balanced with the need to ensure equity of access for all New Zealanders, particularly those from less advantaged communities, which is the cornerstone of a fair education system,” she said.
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Labour’s Associate Tertiary Education spokeperson Carmel Sepuloni said Pasifika students currently had the lowest completion rates of any ethnic group in the tertiary sector and she was particularly concerned about the impact of the Government’s cost-cutting on them.
“Anne Tolley talks about supporting Maori and Pasifika students, but the proof is in the pudding and I’m extremely worried that rather than supporting these students to reach their potential the Government’s actions will have the opposite effect and increase inequities,” Carmel Sepuloni said.
ENDS
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