A simpler, more streamlined tertiary sector

Tertiary Education Minister Michael Cullen today released new legislation to provide the legal mechanisms for the current tertiary education reforms which are delivering a simpler, more focused and streamlined tertiary education sector.

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Tertiary Education Minister Michael Cullen today released new legislation to provide the legal mechanisms for the current tertiary education reforms which are delivering a simpler, more focused and streamlined tertiary education sector.

The Education (Tertiary Reforms) Amendment Bill implements the government's reform of the system for the planning, funding, and monitoring of the provision of tertiary education.

"To transform New Zealand into a higher skilled, innovative economy, we need to equip the tertiary sector with the framework and tools to provide world-class education, skills, and research," Dr Cullen said.

"The reforms aim to improve the way the government steers the sector, makes investment decisions, and monitors the performance of tertiary education organisations.

"It is imperative that New Zealand gets the most from its investment in tertiary  education. Taxpayers must be assured they are getting value for money and students, businesses and communities must be confident the sector is producing the right mix of skills needed to meet our economic and social challenges.

"The new system simplifies and streamlines tertiary education organisations' relationship with central government and lowers compliance costs.  It does so by moving away from the previous system, based on an annually funded, demand-led, input-based system to a three-yearly, controlled, and outcome-based system.

"This Bill gives effect to the new investment system in which planning, funding, quality assurance and monitoring will be aligned to ensure the system delivers for all stakeholders.

 "One of the aims of these reforms is to give our tertiary education organisations much clearer boundaries.  Universities, wananga, institutes of technology and polytechnics, industry training organisations, and private training establishments all have distinctive and important roles to play in education, training, research, higher scholarship, and in building knowledge and understanding."

The Bill has been tabled in Parliament today.  It will be first debated next week with the aim of having it passed before the end of the year, allowing the new system to take effect on 1 January 2008.