The NTEU opposes the government’s student funding bill, as “ill-conceived, unbalanced and unfair.” Not only that the costing basis is bodgy

The National Tertiary Education Union’s draft submission to the consultation on the proposed legislation is detailed in its denunciations on policy and principle. It also makes a specific and very practical point on the funding basis of the bill.

“The new total resourcing levels (student plus Commonwealth contributions) for each discipline (are) based on highly inadequate and inappropriate research which specifically cautions against using its results for establishing funding rates.”

CMM guesses the union is referring to the 2019 Deloitte report on the cost of university teaching, which Vin Massaro dissected in CMM (July 15). “So, whether the Deloitte report is an accurate reflection of reality is contestable, with the report’s own qualifications suggesting that it is not intended to be that accurate.  Whether it is a sufficient basis for policy development is therefore open to debate,” Professor Massaro warned.