Greens get student on tertiary board

Nandor Tanczos today welcomed the Government's agreement to a Green Party initiative to appoint a student participant to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) board.

Nandor, the Green Party's Tertiary Education Spokesperson, said it was very important students had direct input into TEC, to ensure it was effective in guiding and governing the tertiary sector.

"Students have a fundamental right to help shape the future of their education," he said.

The student would be a fully participating member, but would not have voting rights, Nandor said. "Decisions would most likely be made by consensus anyway, but what is important is that there is a student voice on the commission."

Tertiary Education Minister Steve Maharey said the appointment was expected to be made in consultation with student organisations. The first appointment would be confirmed at TEC's February meeting next year, with the student representative attending from March. The commission also envisaged establishing a student advisory body, to advise on key matters, Mr Maharey said.

Nandor said he expected that, in future years, the student advisory body would elect the student participant.

"The relationship between the student advisory body and that participant is crucial because a single student is not able to represent the diversity of interests among different students," Nandor said.

The commission is a new crown entity devised as part of the Government's latest reforms of the tertiary sector. It will allocate funds to tertiary providers, build the capability of tertiary providers, and work with stakeholders to advise the minister on the tertiary education strategy.

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