Davis Kelvin: Education Amendment Bill (No 4) — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Davis Kelvin: Education Amendment Bill (No 4) — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 11 August 2011. Volume:674;Page:20581. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 Being a recent member of the Education and Science Committee I would like to acknowledge the chair Allan Peachey for the great job he does. I find him to be a very fair and reasoned chairperson who gives us the opportunity to express our views. I appreciate that from the chairperson. 
Labour supports the Education Amendment Bill (No 4). It will do a lot of good. It will improve things in education. I would particularly like to focus on careers. I do not think there is enough emphasis on careers in New Zealand education in particular the transition between secondary schools and tertiary education and from tertiary education into employment itself. I do not think we can overemphasise the need for career advice and guidance in schools. 
I was surprised to see that despite inflation running at about 5 percent student levies increased over 2010 by 102 percent. That is outrageous so any moves to cap that are very welcome. 
The export education provisions in this bill are interesting. It is basically about representing New Zealand as an educational destination to students overseas. I think there need to be measures on that and it will benefit New Zealand and New Zealand education. I did say in the first reading that we need to be careful that we do not forget our own home-grown students by overemphasising the fact that we want to attract foreign students to New Zealand. 
In respect of the part of the bill concerning private training establishments I think that making sure we protect the integrity of those institutions is very important. There have been instances of qualifications basically being sold and the falsification of results which is unacceptable at any level of the education system be it at primary school at secondary school or in the tertiary sector and private training establishments. We have to move to protect the integrity of those institutions as I have said. 
I return to student levies. I endorse what my colleague Sue Moroney said about them. Student levies are used in institutions to provide services for students and those services are being jeopardised by another bill that is going through the House. We have to make sure that students have the support that they need—emotional social and health—to get through their studies. 
The funding squeeze in tertiary education has forced institutions to look elsewhere for funding and that is why student levies have risen at such an extraordinary rate—for example there have been increases of up to 600 percent at Canterbury University. That is just not on especially given that the rising cost of living as we know is putting pressure on students’ budgets everywhere as is the cost of gas the cost of food—the cost of everything. The price of tertiary education has risen 18 percent since National took office and out-of-control student levies are just one of the causes. 
Labour is supporting this bill. We look forward to the Committee stage. Again I acknowledge the members of the Education and Science Committee. I have been a member of that committee for a very brief time and much of that time was interrupted by unsuccessfully contesting a by-election. However it has been a pleasure to work with all committee members. Kia ora.