Australian university group urges politicians to increase student places and review Job-Ready Graduates scheme
The Innovative Research Universities group has called on politicians to put education and research at the forefront of their development policies.
In a pre-election policy statement, the eight-member IRU said the 2022 election, expected to be held in May, would be “a unique opportunity to reset policy post-Covid”. It released a list of 11 policies it wanted to see taken up.
They include more funded places for domestic undergraduate students, an uncapped allowance for places for Indigenous students and “a comprehensive review of the Job-Ready Graduates package”.
In a statement on 9 March, the IRU said a review was needed to ensure that the Job-Ready Graduates scheme, which increased the cost of art degrees while cutting the cost of courses such as engineering and law, was not adversely affecting student choice, participation and equity.
The group also wants reforms to the Australian Qualifications Framework to be brought together in a coherent way, more funding for basic research and a commitment to protecting research funding from political interference.
Balanced support
IRU executive director Paul Harris said the nation had “unfinished business when it comes to participation and equity in higher education and maximising the impact from research for the community”.
While universities have been “a key part of the Covid response”, IRU members have also suffered significant budget cuts, the group said. “Government support for key areas of emerging science and technology…must now be balanced with a commitment to advancing the humanities, arts and social sciences, [which] are equally important for Australia’s future.”
IRU chair Carolyn Evans said universities’ international links also had a role to play in developing Australia’s relations with its Indo-Pacific neighbours.
One of the items on the IRU’s wish list is that the next government should “build upon the successful collaborative approach of the University Foreign Interference Taskforce to develop a coordinated, positive agenda for the role of education and research in strengthening diplomatic and strategic partnerships across the Indo-Pacific”.
The IRU group represents eight universities in all states and territories except Tasmania. Members include Griffith, Flinders, Murdoch and La Trobe Universities.