Government welcomes report on tertiary education
Hon Steven Joyce
Minister of Finance
Hon Paul
Goldsmith
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and
Employment
21 March 2017
Embargoed until
5am NZDT, 21 March
Government welcomes Productivity
Commission report on tertiary education
Finance
Minister Steven Joyce, and Tertiary Education, Skills and
Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith have welcomed the release
of the Productivity Commission’s report New models of
tertiary education.
“We would like to acknowledge the Commission’s time and effort in considering this issue, and the wide engagement of the tertiary sector in the inquiry,” Mr Joyce says.
“We share the Commission’s commitment to further improving the way that tertiary education delivers relevant skills for New Zealanders, and will review the recommendations and opportunities identified in the report.”
“The Government will carefully consider the Commission’s recommendations over the coming months. We have work underway on some of the matters raised such as improving the accessibility of information for prospective students,” Mr Goldsmith says.
The Commission’s
report is wide-ranging, and makes 49 recommendations. These
focus on:
• Improving information and its use
across the tertiary education system,
• Improving
regulatory settings, particularly around quality
assurance,
• Reforming how Government purchases
tertiary education,
• Ensuring the “system
architecture” supports clear roles, accountabilities, and
expectations to drive better, and more innovative, tertiary
education performance.
“The Government will keep an open mind on all of the recommendations, with the exception of the Commission’s view that interest should be reintroduced on new student loan borrowing.
“The Government is committed to retaining interest-free student loans for borrowers residing in New Zealand,” says Mr Goldsmith.
“We do not want to see young people starting their working lives with unmanageable debt. We know that for those who stay in New Zealand after graduating, half will have repaid their loan in under six and a half years.”
“Tertiary education provides students with the skills and qualifications to get good jobs and good incomes, contribute to the country’s economy, and be part of an innovative and successful New Zealand,” Mr Joyce says.
The Government will respond formally to the Productivity Commission’s recommendations in due course. The report will be tabled in Parliament at 9amtoday, and can be found on the Commission’s website www.productivity.govt.nz.
ends