A Labor government would increase the number of students completing their university studies by 20,000 each year from 2018, as part the party’s new higher education policy worth more than $2.5 billion, education spokesman Kim Carr announced. Carr said that ...
More »Turnbull opens door to concessions on reform amid Cabinet reshuffle
New Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has raised the possibility of further concessions by the Coalition in its pursuit of higher education reform. Speaking a day after the announcement of sweeping changes to ministerial oversight of the Department of Education and Training as part of a ...
More »Overseas HECS debtors set to pay up
The federal government may soon begin recouping millions of dollars in unpaid HECS loans following the introduction of legislation that would force many overseas-based Australian graduates to make repayments. Under long debated existing laws, Australians living and working overseas are ...
More »Abandon deregulation, retiring UC vice-chancellor warns Turnbull
Staunch opponent of fee deregulation professor Stephen Parker is stepping down as vice-chancellor and president of the University of Canberra. Parker will step down in July next year, after leading UC for nine years, to spend more time with family and to ...
More »Musical chairs in Canberra, but deregulation still looms
The installation of Malcolm Turnbull as the nation’s latest prime minister is unlikely to change the government’s higher education reform plans, despite the touted movement of Christopher Pyne to the defence portfolio as part of a Cabinet reshuffle. Answering questions ...
More »Stop cuts to VET: Labor
Labor has slammed the Abbott Government for the large decline in apprentices since its election in September 2013. New figures from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research show apprentices in training in September 2013 totalled 417,700. This is compared with ...
More »Next government must secure higher-ed future
Regardless of which party takes the next election, the next government will face the challenge of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the higher education sector, a senior departmental official has warned. Speaking as part of a policy debate at the Futureproof ...
More »Election uncertainty clouds higher-ed’s future: Norton
The growing possibility of a change of government at the next federal election is compounding uncertainty over the future of higher education as the Coalition continues to push for reforms, an expert has warned. Speaking at the Futureproof Now conference, ...
More »TAFEs back childcare training crackdown
TAFEs have welcomed a federal government crackdown on poor childcare training, following a report that revealed many courses were too short to enable adequate skills development or assessment. The report, compiled by the Australian Skills Quality Authority, was released this week by ...
More »Senate condemns Pyne’s latest deregulation push
The Senate has officially labelled the education minister, Christopher Pyne's, ongoing efforts to pursue the government’s university deregulation plans as a “significant waste of public resources”. A Greens-led motion the upper house passed yesterday noted the recent news that the government had ...
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