'No education blank cheque'

A row has erupted between the Labour leader and Tertiary Minister over the future of education – sparked by a visit to Palmerston North.

Opposition leader Phil Goff has called for the Government to unlock the gates of universities and reinvest in education for the sake of young people.

However, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce hit back, saying it was unrealistic to expect taxpayers to post a "blank cheque" to the education sector.

The clash of words began after Mr Goff criticised education cuts during a visit to St Peter's College in Palmerston North yesterday.

"I think it's absolutely stupid that the Government would not look at lifting caps so we can raise education standards and improve the employability of young people currently locked out," he told the Manawatu Standard.

He also hit out at Massey University being forced to close summer school and semester two enrolments in July after it reached its limit of Government-funded students.

"I can't think of a more stupid time to can learning opportunities, when the option for many young people will be simply to be unemployed," Mr Goff said. "You could negotiate with universities to allow them to lift the caps, paying the marginal costs of the extra students, but without a huge additional investment required."

The Government had "twisted priorities" when it gave tax cuts to the wealthy while cutting areas that affected people at the other end of spectrum, he said.

However, Mr Joyce, who is in Christchurch inspecting the earthquake damage, said the Government couldn't just keep throwing more cash at the tertiary sector.

"I think we have public support to spend money on the tertiary sector wisely," he said.

Pressure on university places would be eased next year as more spaces became available. "We have more places than ever before, and in fact, there will be 12,000 more next year than three years ago. That's a big increase," he said.

Labour's requests were unrealistic, especially as the Government must balance the cost of interest-free student loans against student places, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News