As the local MP—and three times over a proud Otago humanities graduate, I am grateful for the opportunity to add my voice to the growing chorus of voices frustrated at the increasingly marginal place of humanities in our universities.
A threatened cut of up to 20 humanities roles at the University could be avoided if Labour’s three years’ free post-secondary education policy was introduced. Other faculties would benefit too.
Though debate about the changing nature of universities and of wider society is not the exclusive purview of humanities academics, voices from the humanities feature prominently in social and political critique. These voices are healthy to a functioning democracy and must not be lost.
At a time of rapid change in society, it is imperative that the role of the university as critic and conscience of society is not jeopardised. The current Government has imposed a governance model on university councils that cabinet itself won’t tolerate in its own decision-making processes. From the top they have underfunded, bullied, and imposed corporate structures upon universities across the country. These imposed cultural changes have played a part in creating an environment where some academics think twice before entering public debate.
Things are heading in the wrong direction. The number of people attending tertiary study has fallen by nearly 20 percent in less than a decade, and is forecast to fall further in coming years. In part this is because education has become unaffordable for many. According to the Student Loan Annual Report: Student debt is at $15 billion, up 55 percent under the current Government. It is sadly no surprise that home ownership among people aged 20-40 has fallen from over 50 percent before student loans were introduced to just 25 percent today.
Labour’s three years’ free programme is affordable because it would be phased in over successive terms – one free year at a time. And it is not just students that would benefit. Using the economic modelling released by the University in August, Dunedin stands to gain to the tune of $233 million if the university grew by 15 percent—the expected response to our policy. According to the modelling, that amount of growth at the University would likely create more than 2000 more jobs across the city.
I believe in the value of a diverse and rich humanities education. And I implore those making decisions to look to the future where the adaptability, creativity, resilience and critical thinking of humanities graduates is likely to be more needed than ever.