2019-02-08
Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Spokesperson for Education, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has welcomed the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) pre-budget submission, which has called for an end to the university funding freeze, an end to student fees and for better conditions for university staff.
Senator Faruqi has said that the Greens platform for higher education, including fee-free uni and TAFE, funding boosts for universities, more secure conditions for workers and expanded student payments fits well with the NTEU’s submission.
Senator Faruqi said:
“The National Tertiary Education Union’s pre-budget submission hits the mark for what needs to be done to remove the burden of debt from students and to support staff. I am pleased to say that the Greens five point plan, including fee free university and TAFE, increased funding to universities and better job security for workers, is much needed transformative and education policy.
“For too long universities have been asked to do more with less. It's been decades since the last real increase in funding to universities. Our plan delivers billions more to universities over the decade to improve learning and teaching conditions, reduce class sizes and and give researchers the resources they need.
“We are ranked 30th out of 34 in the OECD for public investment in tertiary education which shows how far behind we are globally. We need to properly fund our public university system and reverse the cuts imposed by the Liberal-National Government.
“As a former academic, I know that we will not begin to address the challenges of the years to come unless our best minds are given the time, resources and support to tackle them. We will work with universities to reduce casualisation in the sector and improve staff working conditions.
“I welcome the National Tertiary Education Union’s submission and call on the other political parties to get on board with proper funding of universities and to support our plan for fee free uni and TAFE,” she concluded.
The Greens plan for higher education is available here: https://mehreen-faruqi.greensmps.org.au/articles/fee-free-university-and-tafe-greens-launch-transformational-5-point-plan-higher-education