Yelling down Microphone to Keep Rights We Have

30 Attend NZUSA and TEU Campaign against Dumb (Potential) Council Changes

O n Thursday 19 March, the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) launched a joint campaign with the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) at Otago University. NZUSA President Rory McCourt led the launch alongside TEU National President Sandra Grey.

The campaign, which was launched on the steps of the registry building, is an attempt to maintain democratically elected seats for students and staff on New Zealand’s eight university councils.
In February, the government amended the Education Act by removing the legal right of staff and students to have a place on university councils. The campaign asks each university to ensure at least one third of seats are left for staff and students who are elected democratically.

Grey said in a press release, “The government never gave a justification for removing the legislated right for staff and students to have democratically elected representatives on councils or for diminishing the size of councils.”
“We know that despite the government’s efforts to put councils in the hands of ministerial appointees and business executives, universities and wānanga still want their staff and students to have a voice on their councils.”

McCourt said, “Staff and students are the people that make universities great. We’re the ones doing the teaching and learning, and asking the big questions.”
“The evidence, and overwhelming international experience, shows that these important perspectives add value to this kind of institution, and protect it against top-down groupthink. The importance of this cannot be overstated in the context of a ministerial power-grab,” said McCourt.
This article first appeared in Issue 5, 2015.
Posted 5:43pm Sunday 22nd March 2015 by Laura Munro.