Defence of university funding ‘difficult’

Press, 23 July 1986, Page 6

Defence of university funding ‘difficult’

PA Wellington The Minister of Education said it was becoming more and more difficult to defend present university funding policies. “The benefits individuals accrue from their university education are considerable, so why should the costs of university study fall so heavily on the taxpayer?” asked Mr Marshall. In an address to the Administrative Staff College at Levin, Mr Marshall spoke of the Government policy to move towards self-sufficiency and the “user-pays” principle in private enterprise. He said there were social services such as health, welfare and education where profit could not be expected in economic terms but success could only be viewed in terms of social equity and quality of service. “This does not mean that these areas are totally exempt from the user-pays principle,” he said. "Social service areas

must be run as efficiently and as economically as any other Government investment, the difference being in the ultimate goal: quality of life, not profit.” In education, he said, consideration was being given to the user-pays principle. “Recent research studies at Victoria, Auckland and Canterbury universities have shown that more than half of the students enrolled

come from families classified as professional, managerial or business. “These occupations make up 14 per cent of the New Zealand workforce, but students from such families make up 55 per cent of the enrolment at universities.

“It is becoming more and more difficult to defend current policies for the funding of universities,” said Mr Marshall.