John Raine: Education, Research, and Lifting Productivity – a Heads-Up for Shane Reti

A New Minister

The New Zealand Herald 20^th January report on the Coalition Cabinet reshuffle focuses on Dr Shane Reti’s loss of the Health portfolio, and that he would become the new Universities Minister, while also picking up Statistics and Science, Innovation and Technology.  He will now have to follow through on the Government’s planned changes to the Education and Training Act 2020 [1] to strengthen academic freedom in the universities and, it would seem, on how science and technology research will be funded in the future – both relevant to the urgent need to increase New Zealand’s productivity.

These will be challenging tasks, given how the education and research sector has been significantly captured by identity politics and pockets of decolonisation/indigenisation activism. These have also led to censorship of academic publications and self-censorship by academics. This politicisation has aggravated operational inefficiencies in the sector. 

Related issues covered in earlier articles include:

·          The universities have declared themselves Te Tiriti-led, which leads to greater time and resources spent on consultation with local iwi over matters of tikanga and kawa, and on internal cultural debate and change, e.g. Treaty awareness or principles staff training courses [2].

·          The NZ 1.5 to 1 ratio of non-academic staff to academic (direct revenue earning) staff [3], is among the highest in the Western World, driven in part by costly directorates in areas such as Māori, Pasifika, LGBQTI and for staff with general DEI responsibilities.

·          Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies have led to the prioritising of diversity ahead of outright merit in staff appointments and granting of conference leave [4].

·          The requirement to address Vision Matauranga (VM) in publicly funded research grant applications has disadvantaged applicants in the hard sciences and engineering, for example in nuclear physics where VM has no relevance, with a consequent loss of valuable science research.

·          The questionable inclusion of matauranga Māori content (that cannot be questioned by non-Maori) in already crowded science and engineering curricula leads to highly relevant modern science and technology content being left out [5]. 

·          Pressure to increase course pass rates, originating some years ago from the Tertiary Education Commission, but accelerated under DEI pressures, has led to some decline in academic standards and weaker graduates.

Moreover, there have been ongoing cultural pressures towards a more indigenised curriculum right from early childhood education [6] through the primary and secondary school curriculum. Education Minister, Erica Stanford, is now refocusing the system on a knowledge-based curriculum, strong on literacy and numeracy. Only this will ensure that we have young people suitably prepared for tertiary study and to participate in a complex high-technology international world.

Turning to the economic imperative for change in our education and research sector, between 2000 and 2022 New Zealand saw its GDP per hour worked (yes, a very flawed measure of productive output) in constant US dollar terms increase by a modest ~24% [7], and it has since fallen slightly. Productivity in Australia and the USA grew by 27.6% and 38.7% respectively over the same period. More significantly, at USD 43.7 GDP per hour worked in 2022, NZ still lagged Australia (USD 55.9) by about 22%, and lagged both Denmark (USD 74.3) and the USA (USD 75.5) by over 40%. Our country needs a much higher proportion of employees in high-productivity industry.

Here a few items for Minister Reti’s action list.

The Education Sector

Apart from financial challenges, key factors in this sector revolve around organisational culture, the content and quality of taught curricula, and a renewed focus on a merit-based system where there is no room for dilution with “other ways of knowing” or pseudo-science.

1.          A critical issue that university Councils and Vice Chancellors must face is that of institutional political neutrality, (per the 1988 Bologna Accord [8]) which is essential if academic freedom is to be fully protected. This means the universities themselves remaining neutral while fostering the pursuit of objective truth, open inquiry and wide-ranging debate on all subjects within their institutions. An unrelenting focus on excellence is needed, and this can be lost when academic freedom is compromised.

2.          Our universities must be outward-looking and culturally neutral, so that they are attractive to local and international students of all ethnicities. They must be welcoming places for Māori students but being Te Tiriti-led works against academic freedom. The increasing dominance of the university culture by Te Ao Māori is unwelcome to many staff and students but off-limits for discussion. Academics who are uncomfortable with the inclusion of matauranga Māori in their courses now typically remain silent or risk being cancelled. Moreover, pro-active LGBQTI and transgender-supportive university administrations worldwide have made life uncomfortable for non-aligned academics, e.g. for gender-critical feminists [9].  

3.          New Zealand’s high-technology economy is growing well [10] but could move faster. It has been often noted that this requires a highly educated workforce, which in turn demands knowledge-based teaching of all subjects, right up to university level. We have had a chronic under-supply of graduates into the engineering and IT sectors for all of this century.  Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are vital areas of education for any country, but we must steer more tertiary students towards science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses that support a high-productivity economy, with a laser-sharp focus on excellence. This assumes secondary school education is transformed to deliver many more students able to undertake such tertiary STEM studies.

4.          Universities should revert to a more merit-oriented entry system with capped enrolments, and more school leavers directed towards polytechnic studies to lift the numbers of qualified tradespeople.

Research and Development

1.          Let us hope that Sir Peter Gluckman’s Science System Advisory Group gives Minister Reti a clear template for reshaping the country’s publicly funded research system, that refocuses on excellence, and eliminates excessive DEI influence and inefficient overlaps between funding channels. This revised system must fund across the spectrum from basic curiosity-driven research through mission-led research that addresses identified public good and industry needs, to pre-commercial development and technology commercialisation. 

2.          While public research funding cannot focus simply on utilitarian outcomes, New Zealand’s economic situation at present requires an increased emphasis on R&D that will accelerate economic development and higher productivity. Growth in the high-technology industry sector internationally correlates with the level of R&D investment.  As has been recommended previously [11,12], New Zealand must find a way to rapidly increase aggregate (Government + Business) investment in R&D from around 1.4% of GDP to at least the OECD 2021 average of 2.7% [13], especially given our small economy, small economies of scale and large distances to our overseas markets.

Minister Judith Collins was right to remove Humanities and the Social Sciences from the Marsden Fund, given the capture by politically motivated research, but Government funding support for these areas should reappear in the future in a new form.

3.          The currently paused Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) was useful to step up research intensity in New Zealand 2003-2012 but became a massive compliance exercise where university staff were mostly incentivised to work alone and not collaborate with each other or industry. Recently the PBRF became aligned to DEI objectives, with a strong focus on Māori capability development. If it is rebooted, it must encourage collaborative group research, focus simply on research excellence, and be oriented even more strongly towards impact. Separate Māori and Pacific People research capability development funds could be created, although both groups have already competed effectively on merit in the PBRF to date.

4.          Refocus part of MBIE R&D investment more clearly towards industry-linked projects. Recently, MBIE’s Endeavour Fund has looked more like the Royal Society Te Aparangi Marsden Fund, with a strong focus on basic science, although with the likely impact of projects also assessed. Industry-linked funding such as the former NERF and TBG grants should be reintroduced to build a stronger pipeline of technology and other research outcomes taken up by industry. Grants by Callaghan Innovation only partly address this need.

5.          There are other actions that can be addressed such as enhancing NZ’s 15% R&D tax credit system to match that of Australia [14], building more international technology R&D alliances, increasing incentives for foreign direct investment, and to make local investment in our high-productivity industry sector a more attractive alternative to property investment.

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The education and research sector can make a key contribution to lifting New Zealand’s productivity and the wider economy.  There is work for Minister Reti to do if this sector is to deliver what is needed.

John Raine is an Emeritus Professor of Engineering and has worked in Deputy Vice Chancellor and Pro Vice Chancellor roles in three New Zealand Universities. He chaired the 2011 Ministry of Science and Innovation “Powering Innovation” Review, and was Moderator for the 2012 PBRF Research Quality Evaluation.

 

References

1.          Adam Pearse, “Health Minister Dr Shane Reti loses portfolio in PM Christopher Luxon’s latest reshuffle” NZ Herald, 20^th January 2024 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/health-minister-dr-shane-reti-loses-portfolio-in-pm-christopher-luxons-latest-reshuffle/GT4DJQLA7FHTXFT45SKMOQ5U34/

2.          John Raine and David Lillis: “Can a Te Tiriti-led University be Politically Neutral”, Bassett Brash and Hide, November 2^nd 2024 https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/john-raine-and-david-lillis-can-a-te-tiriti-led-university-be-politically-neutral

3.          James Kierstead and Michael Johnston, “Blessing or Bloat? Non-Academic Staffing in New Zealand Universities in Comparative Perspective”, The New Zealand Initiative,  July 2023, ISBN 978-1-99-115808-6 (print) 978-1-99-115809-3 (online),48pp.

4.          Mike Hosking Breakfast, Newstalk ZB: “AUT's staff selection policy has "good rationale" behind it - Tertiary Education Minister”, 20^th September 2024 https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/penny-simmonds-tertiary-education-minister-on-auts-policy-for-choosing-staff-to-attend-overseas-conferences/

5.          John Raine: “Why Engineering Cannot be Decolonised”, Breaking Views NZ, 30^th November 2024  (https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2024/11/john-raine-why-engineering-cannot-be.html)

6.          NZ Ministry of Education, “Kōwhiti Whakapae: A new early learning curriculum resource” 2 October 2023. https://www.education.govt.nz/news/kowhiti-whakapae-new-early-learning-curriculum-resource

7.          Stats.OECD.org.  GDP per hour worked statistics.

https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=PDB_LV

8.          Magna Charta Universitatum, Bologna, 18th September 1988.

9.          NDTV World, “UK Professor Quits Her University Position Amid Transphobic Comments Row”. 29^th October, 2021 https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/uk-professor-kathleen-stock-quits-her-university-position-amid-transphobic-comments-row-2592246

10.        2023 TIN Report Press Release, 17 November 2023 https://tin100.com/2023-tin-report-press-release/

11.       John Raine, “Education, R&D, and a High Productivity Economy”, Guest Opinion, National Business Review, 15^th July, 2023

12.       Campbell, Hamish; Lillis, David and Grieve, Janet (2005). There is a better way: Eight recommendations on the science system in New Zealand: A discussion document prepared by the New Zealand Association of Scientists, May 2005. New Zealand Science Review Vol 62 (3) 2005 https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/nzsr/article/view/8913

13.       Figure.nz, “Research and development expenditure in New Zealand and selected OECD countries as a proportion of GDP”  https://figure.nz/chart/4oQ0kEfbVjuSTvNp

14.       Research and Development Tax Incentive – Australia, 22^nd May 2024 https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/income-deductions-and-concessions/incentives-and-concessions/research-and-development-tax-incentive-and-concessions/research-and-development-tax-incentive/rates-of-r-d-tax-incentive-offset