95bFM Concerns as proposals for the tertiary sector ignore University Advisory Group advice
4 September, 2025
Interview by Sanat Singh, adapted by Sara Mckoy
With the government seeking to revitalise the country’s tertiary sector, the Universities Minister and the University Advisory Group have different perspectives on how this should look.
This week, Universities Minister Shane Reti announced numerous changes to New Zealand’s tertiary system, including the development of a new tertiary education strategy, following a report delivered by the University Advisory Group earlier this year.
However, Reti’s announcement does not align with the recommendations offered in the report, which includes tougher entry requirements for universities and a separate funding system from other tertiary institutions.
The advisory group also recommended as the “highest priority” the creation of a Higher Education Council to set strategy, provide oversight and advice, allocate funding, and monitor universities separately from other tertiary institutions — a proposal which has been rejected by the Universities Minister.
Tertiary Education Union spokesperson, Sandra Grey, told 95bFM’s The Wire that Reti’s decisions New Zealand’s tertiary education are “a real mixed bag”.
“First of all, no one is going to argue with Shane Reti about ensuring more students study and more students complete their courses…
“[But] we don't agree with the Minister's decision to basically set up an advisory group which he will control and which will determine what happens to the universities.”
Grey’s main criticism of Reti’s changes for the tertiary sector are that they focus too heavily on the financial viability of universities rather than addressing the problems faced by university students within the current system.
“One of the things that's needed right now is more support for students so they are not struggling to pay the bills and not having to work 30 hours a week just to make ends meet.
“If you want more people studying and you want more people completing their studies, you need to give them decent support as students.”
While funding increased for universities in the 2025 Budget, these increases were limited to STEM subjects, teacher education, and health education.
Grey says that Reti’s ambitions for universities reflect a “narrow” view of the value of pursuit of knowledge across all different fields.
“We need good social science and humanities research, and we need good scientific research and not all of that is commercialisable.
“Some of that research will never earn a dollar but it will help make better lives in Aotearoa.”
Grey says that the Minister’s plan to develop a new tertiary strategy, which excludes various stakeholders like the Tertiary Education Union and teaching and research staff, will undermine the high degree of autonomy that has been afforded to universities for decades.
“[University staff] know what's needed academically, politicians just don't know that stuff.
“So we need to make sure that the governance includes staff and student voice and includes it genuinely, not just as a kind of a last thought.”
As New Zealand invests less than most OECD countries in tertiary education, Grey says the Government needs to move away from an ‘outdated model’ of goal-setting that prioritises financial performance, and start thinking “more strategically and collaboratively as a sector”.
“One of the things New Zealand needs to decide is ‘do we want a world-class university system?’
“We need to decide whether New Zealanders deserve quality tertiary education and then we need to tell the government to put the money in.”
