Joyce Steven: Education Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeJoyce Steven: Education Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading[Sitting date: 10 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1421. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment): This is another important bill that will improve our education system. I would like to thank members for the work they have done on the bill. Their suggestions and amendments have improved it. I have listened carefully to the two previous Labour Party speakers. I have to say that we respectfully disagree with their connotations on the bill and I suspect that will be true for subsequent speakers as well although we shall wait and see.I want to focus on the areas of the bill that are related to my role as the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment. The changes proposed are the latest in a series of reforms made by this Government to improve the performance and quality of tertiary education in this country. We have reduced the spending in low-value areas such as student loans for people who consistently fail their courses and we have improved the way the system targets need. We have set performance incentives on providers and students and have improved information for students about the performance providers and the outcomes of their study and our approach is paying off. The tertiary system delivered a record number of qualifications in 2013. Also in that year 26200 Bachelor’s degrees were completed by domestic students up by just over 4500 since 2010. Right through the 2000s the number of degree graduates flat-lined despite big increases in tertiary funding by the previous Government so these results are great to see.We are also in the process of improving outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students. The number of Māori students enrolled in qualifications at Bachelor’s level or higher increased from 17500 in 2007 to 22100 in 2013 and the number of Pasifika students enrolled in qualifications at Bachelor’s level or higher has increased from 8570 in 2007 to 12602 in 2013. There is more work to do but the direction is positive.The changes to university and wānanga governance proposed in this bill build on these gains. There are four major changes from the current model. Firstly councils will decrease in size from 12 to 20 members to 8 to 12 members. Universities and wānanga will choose their council size from within those limits. Secondly council membership requirements will be made more flexible by the removal of specific representative requirements. Thirdly the Minister and councils will be required to appoint members with relevant knowledge skills or experience. And fourthly the duties and accountabilities of individual council members will be clarified including the circumstances in which a member may be dismissed. All university and wānanga councils will be required to have at least one Māori member to assist the Government’s goal of raising achievement for Māori and I would note that that would not involve significant change to current arrangements.These changes will support councils to respond effectively to a rapidly changing employment market to adapt to new challenges from changing technology and teaching and to operate more strategically and effectively in an increasingly competitive international university environment. The changes will help address the difficulties large councils can have with timely decision-making and communication. They will bring university and wānanga councils more in line with the governance bodies of other organisations of all types.The changes are particularly important for wānanga. The current governance settings were not written with them in mind. The changes will allow increased flexibility for wānanga to reflect their unique stakeholders particularly iwi on their councils.Some members of this House have expressed concern that these changes would compromise institutional autonomy or academic freedom. That is simply not the case as a reading of the Act will tell you as these are guaranteed—Dr Megan Woods: So all the vice-chancellors are wrong—the vice-chancellors of all 11 universities are wrong.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: —just for the member’s benefit—by section 161 of the Education Act 1989 and again for member’s benefit that section is not changing.Some members have claimed that council members will owe their duties only to the Minister or that the Minister will be able to remove council members if he or she disagrees with a council member’s decision. That is also incorrect. Members will owe their duties to the council and the Minister and the Minister could remove a council member only on the recommendation of the council and with just cause.Some members have also expressed concern about staff and student representation on councils. These changes will mean it is for institutions to decide whether they want staff and student representatives on their councils and given the feedback from institutions about the contributions of these stakeholders I would expect that many institutions will choose to retain that representation.Universities and wānanga will not be expected to transition to the new councils immediately. They will have until 30 June next year which will give them plenty of time to draft new constitutions and statutes in consultation with their stakeholders and if required to hold elections for new members. However those institutions that wish to transition to new councils immediately will be able to do so.The bill will also improve the tertiary education system’s responsiveness to the needs of international students. International education is very important to New Zealand. It contributes the latest figures say $2.85 billion a year to our economy and over 30000 additional jobs for New Zealanders. The leadership statement for international education has set the goal of doubling the total value of New Zealand’s international education sector from where it was a few years ago to $5 billion by 2025.International education also showcases New Zealand to the world and improves our connectedness as a country. It provides us with lifelong ambassadors. Graduates return to their home countries and share their experiences with their friends families and colleagues. International education also enhances teaching and research as students share their knowledge with New Zealand teachers and researchers.Of course if New Zealand is to sustain and grow the international sector international students and their families must have confidence that they will be well cared for and have a great experience in this country. This bill strengthens the legal framework governing the care and support of international students and improves the responsiveness of the education system to the needs of those students. This bill creates a strengthened legal framework for a revised code of practice for the pastoral care of international students. The bill targets intervention to providers who are not complying with their obligations under the code. It requires that all reasonable steps are taken to protect international students in a timely manner and to ensure that they have a positive experience in this country.The bill also establishes a dedicated independent contract disputes resolution scheme for international students and improves the student fee protection regime which covers both domestic and international students. The bill also strengthens quality assurance to promote accountability and high standards. To protect the quality of tertiary education the bill strengthens enforcement and offence provisions.This bill builds on the strong foundations of the tertiary education system and the Government’s commitment to continually improving that system. It makes important changes to the governance of our universities and wānanga so that they can respond more quickly and strategically to the challenges of modern-day tertiary education. The bill will create a more robust regulatory framework for our international education sector and it will improve the quality assurance of our tertiary providers. I commend this bill to the House.