Maharey refutes National’s interference claims

Minister responsible for the Tertiary Education Commission Steve Maharey is dismissing claims by National MP Simon Power that he is poised to interfere in the types of courses being taught by New Zealand’s tertiary education providers.

The new Tertiary Education Commission is being formally launched this evening and will be responsible for regulating and distributing $1.9b of taxpayer subsidies each year to entire post-school education system. Legislation passed by Parliament in the lead-up to Christmas establishing the Commission reaffirmed the institutional autonomy and academic freedom tertiary education providers have traditionally enjoyed in New Zealand.

Steve Maharey said the new Act specifically prevents Ministers from interfering in the Commission’s funding decisions with respect to individual tertiary education organisations.

“I suspect Simon Power has inadvertently revealed that National would abandon academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Certainly the party’s former tertiary education spokesperson, Maurice Williamson, never made any secret of his desire to be highly directive about what should be taught, by whom and too whom,” Steve Maharey said.

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