Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson for Higher Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has responded to UTS' decision to proceed with their proposal to close the School of Education & International Studies and School of Public Health, cutting hundreds of jobs and leaving students in the lurch.
Senator Faruqi wrote to the Education Minister in August requesting that the Minister refer UTS to TEQSA to investigate any breaches of the Higher Education Threshold Standards. TEQSA has since confirmed that it is undergoing a compliance process with UTS.
As stated by Senator Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Higher Education:
"It is a disgrace that UTS management don't have a problem with forking out millions of dollars on private consultants and hundreds of thousands to attend extravagant alumni events abroad, yet insist there is no option but to close down schools like education, international relations, and public health.
"This decision flies in the face of all that universities should stand for - public institutions for public good.
"As per usual, it is the staff, students, and the wider community that will bear the brunt of these changes, while university management continue to be rewarded with exorbitant salaries and lavish benefits.
"Overhauling university governance is absolutely urgent. Staff and students deserve to be key decision-makers at their universities, not overpaid executives or corporate appointees."
