Education Minister Simon Birmingham has hit back at what he describes as “scaremongering” from regional universities over a funding freeze announced by the federal government.
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In a letter to The Border Mail, Senator Birmingham said federal funding had grown in recent years as student numbers rapidly increased, which should have delivered efficiencies saving some universities $500 million a year.
“For all the emotional language about university funding changes the Turnbull government has announced, it’s important to inject some facts amidst the scaremongering,” he said.
The minister argued funding per student in 2016 was at a record $11,637 – while that funding grew by 15 per cent, costs for universities to deliver courses only jumped 9.5 per cent.
He questioned why funding for administration and marketing had doubled from 6 per cent in 2010 to 15 per cent and how much taxpayer money was used in the $1.7 billion spent on marketing and advertising by Australia’s universities in the last seven years.
”The Turnbull Government’s plan to freeze just one stream of university funding for two years still means universities can enroll more students by making use of that 15 per cent teaching funding they appear to have been diverting,” Senator Birmingham said.
“From 2020, we’ll grow funding at the rate of population increases and tie it to performance metrics to ensure our universities are focused on tackling issues that have emerged such as declining completion rates and employment outcomes.
“Universities should be asking themselves what their spending priorities are if not to use the record funding we’ve been providing to best support their students.”