11/10/02
Education Minister Alan Carpenter today welcomed the support of the Federal Government for the expansion of higher education institutions into country areas of Western Australia, but warned that sufficient funding from the Commonwealth was essential to ensure the future of higher education for our students.
"I have been lobbying the Commonwealth since December last year about the severe disadvantages facing WA students who want to continue their education at a university level," Mr Carpenter said.
"Too many qualified WA students are missing out on a Commonwealth-funded university place simply because there isn't enough funding allocated to WA to create these placements."
Mr Carpenter joined State and Territory Education Ministers in Ballarat, Victoria today for a special meeting on higher education reform and said the insufficient number of university placements in WA was a pertinent issue.
"The media release put out by Dr Nelson today advising that the States and Territories decided not to address the issue of distribution of places is part of his political game and shouldn't be taken seriously," the Minister said.
"WA's fast-growing population has seen a rising demand for a more equitable system of university placements.
"It has become a very real issue for this State.
"This issue is further evidenced by WA's participation rates being significantly lower than the national average*."
As part of the Commonwealth's Higher Education Review, Federal figures released indicate that demand for university places in WA would increase by more than 10 per cent by 2020 ('Demand in universities in WA to soar' - The West Australian, Thursday October 10).
While Mr Carpenter acclaimed the Commonwealth for recognising WA's emerging need, he said that these estimates grossly understated the existing situation for WA.
"As an extremely conservative estimate, the Commonwealth allocations for the next few years indicate that WA will still be short-changed by about 1200 university places and about $20million of recurrent funds," he said.
"This has resulted in WA having the highest university cut off scores in Australia, making it harder to get a place here than in any other State."
In its submission to the Commonwealth review of the university system, the State Government argued that before any changes are made to the system, all States and institutions should be established on a level playing field.
"There is a serious danger that unless the Commonwealth accepts the existing disadvantage of WA and acts upon it accordingly, the situation will become even more difficult for our young people, particularly those in regional areas to gain a university place and continue their education," Mr Carpenter said.
*Across Australia, participation rates for 17 to 24-year-olds in 2000 were 16.4 enrolments for every 100 people. WA's participation rates for 17 to 24-year-olds in 2000 were 15.0 per 100 people.
Minister's office: 9213 6800
