Learning for Life II ‘poses growth threat’

Press, 21 August 1989, Page 3

Learning for Life II ‘poses growth threat’

By

MARITA VANDENBERG

The proposals outlined in Learning for Life II pose a threat to the development and growth of New Zealand’s 684 private career tuition institutions, the chairman of the Association of Private Providers of Training and Education (A.P.P.T.E.), Mr Greg Whitecliffe, said.

Mr Whitecliffe, the director of Auckland’s Whitecliffe Art School, said private providers were reacting with disbelief to last Thursday’s Learning for Life II announcements. Mr Whitecliffe said his association endorsed comments made by Mr Ray Taylor of the Employers’ Federation, that the Government had abandoned its original aims of market oriented tertiary education and had instead listened to government officials and the vocal State sector protecting its own interests.

“Academic freedom and equal opportunity in education is a myth the Government floats. In reality private providers

see their contribution to New Zealand education being undermined by the political interests of the Government,” he said. Mr Whitecliffe said private providers were the silent majority in tertiary education, giving tuition to 8000 full-time students and more than 247,000 part-timers. Institutions servicing disabilities and underprivileged groups stood to benefit from Learning for Life 11, he said. But the thrust of productive work came from the higher learning and skill-oriented institutions that offered small but efficiently-man-aged and market-led courses.

Sector industries such as aviation, language, commerce and design depended on private providers for employees, he said.

“By potentially damaging their chances of development and alienating industry input by encouraging State institutions to take on these areas, the quality of training all round will suffer heavily.”

Mr Whitecliffe said Treasury concurred that the earning capacity of the private sector was more than $162.6 million a year. “The announcements by the Minister (of Education) give a clear signal to private providers that the Government wants to use its advantage to capture those earnings by encouraging entrepreneurial activities in the State sector.”

He said private providers wanted to be able to compete fairly with charters, for research funding, course and facility developments, youth allowances and postgraduate student scholarships.

“As major taxpayers, private providers, being the majority in real terms, should be fairly represented and eligible if New Zealand is to be seen to offer democratically legislated education. "Competition is good, and the A.P.P.T.E. welcomes it, but on equal terms as the Maori Iwi authorities have been assured,” he said.