Amalgamation of Kalgoorlie College and WA School of Mines

12/1/94

A university college will be established in Kalgoorlie by the amalgamation of the existing Kalgoorlie College with the Western Australian School of Mines.

The new university college will consolidate Kalgoorlie as a significant education and training centre, providing quality tuition for the entire Eastern Goldfields/Esperance region.

Education Minister Norman Moore announced today that State Cabinet had given approval for legislation to be prepared to enable the creation of the new university college on July 1, 1994.

"This new university college will provide increased support to the economic and social development of the Goldfields region," Mr Moore said.

"A single management structure and economies from the operation of a combined organisation will enable a wider range of relevant courses to be available to local people."

Mr Moore said the precise name of the new college, which would be affiliated with Curtin University of Technology, would be decided after further consultation with the Goldfields community.

The Commonwealth had given commitments to providing $6 million in 1996 for buildings, together with additional university places to support the amalgamated college.

The proposal to amalgamate the two existing institutions to form a new university college stemmed from a study undertaken by the Western Australian Office of Higher Education, and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training.

The study, completed late last year, involved extensive consultation throughout the region together with first-hand investigation of relevant developments elsewhere in Australia, particularly New South Wales and Victoria.

Mr Moore said the study cited the formalised links with Curtin University as boosting the national and international stature and credibility of higher education in Kalgoorlie.  This would be important in attracting students from overseas and elsewhere in Australia.

"This is a landmark decision for post-secondary education in Kalgoorlie and heralds a bigger, more diverse commercial and industrial base for the Goldfields, in which the university college will play an instrumental part," the Minister said.

Media contact:  Ross Storey 321 1444 / 222 9595