More tertiary student places, focus on success

Budget 2010 provides more than $4.2 billion to the tertiary sector with a raft of initiatives to ensure more higher education opportunities for New Zealanders.

Creating more student places, streamlining funding and supporting student success are all key elements of the Budget package, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce says.

“These are the next steps in an on-going programme of reform aimed at improving the sector’s contribution to achieving faster growth in the years ahead.”

Measures in this year’s Budget include:

• Removing funds representing poor value for money and reinvesting that money in more student places.
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• Purchasing 1735 additional full time places at universities and 3173 extra full-time places at Polytechs and Institutes of Technology than previously budgeted, to respond to demand. This will mean the number of places in universities will be 765 greater than this year’s record number and the number of places at Polytechs and Institutes of Technology will be 455 greater than this year.
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• Providing higher tuition subsidies per student.
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• Replacing the fee maxima with an annual maximum fee movement, which caps fee increases for all courses at 4 per cent in 2011.
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These new measures work alongside previously announced plans to link providers’ funding to performance.

“This is an important Budget because we are laying the foundations on which a more flexible and high-performing sector can be built,” Mr Joyce says.

“The economic outlook is still uncertain and there is little room to manoeuvre financially. On top of that, the tertiary sector already gets its fair share of

government spending compared to other countries. That means we have to look at what we have and make it work better.

“In short, we need the sector to become more productive and responsive to the needs of individual students.

“This year’s Budget is a positive one. It sets the course for the future, one that will give all our tertiary institutions incentives to lift their game so they offer what students want and what the economy needs - a high-performing, highly skilled workforce.

“It is important that students are supported too. I want to encourage every student to learn and develop new skills and to play a full and productive role in today’s economy.

“Budget 2010 will build further on last year’s record number of student places and ensure access for young people who are keen to succeed and committed to New Zealand,” Mr Joyce says.

ENDS

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