2020-04-21
Senator Faruqi commented on the Australian Association of University Professors' call for a Senate inquiry.
Quotes from Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens spokesperson for Education:
“The time has come for a comprehensive reassessment of tertiary education in Australia, that listens to all involved. Decades of government underfunding has forced universities to rely on international fee revenue, to the detriment of universities, their staff, and the welfare of local and international students alike. A Senate inquiry is a good way forward to address this.
“There’s no going back to ‘business as usual’ after COVID-19, and we shouldn’t want to. Higher education should play a key role in rebuilding a socially, environmentally and economically just country. To do that we have to reset the neoliberal logic and commercialisation that has been foisted on uni communities for too long.
“We’ve long called for fee-free university and TAFE. We must reimagine universities as a public good with democratic governance structures that support all staff and students in their collective pursuit of knowledge, not corporate institutions.”