The proposed University Canberra Institute of Technology has been placed ''on hold'' - and possibly off the agenda - while the ACT Government negotiates future vocational and training reforms with the Commonwealth.
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ACT Education Minister Chris Bourke said yesterday the Government would wait until the Council of Australian Governments meeting on April 13 to see what new Commonwealth funding would be made available to the ACT before it committed to any formal links between the University of Canberra and the Canberra Institute of Technology.
The proposed UCIT, announced by the ACT Government last December, was an 11th-hour compromise to create a new institution to offer associate degrees and diplomas after the CIT resisted a formal merger with the UC.
The formal merger was the strong recommendation of Professor Denise Bradley - the architect of the federal government's 2008 higher education review - who was called in by the ACT government to examine the future of the two Canberra institutions last year.
Earlier yesterday, the Legislative Assembly passed a Greens motion to force the issue into the Education Standing Committee after long-running concerns by the Greens, ACT Liberals and education unions over the government's lack of detailed information on, or planning around, the new venture.
By yesterday afternoon, Dr Bourke said it would be foolish to commit further to the UCIT before the Commonwealth unveiled to the states and territories its plans for reforms to the vocational sector.
Premiers and chief ministers will meet next month to discuss $9 billion in federal funding which is on offer in exchange for overhauling state and territory vocational training practices.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard also wants agreement to replace a disparate system of state and territory training industry regulators with a national regulator - the Australian Skills Quality Authority - a proposal which has already been rejected by some states. The five-year deal will include $7.2 billion of guaranteed funding with an additional $1.75 billion in reward payments if the states agree to wider reforms.
Mr Bourke said the ACT was in line for about $28 million of that funding but would be negotiating for more. He indicated one of his biggest concerns was the future health of the CIT.
''CIT makes this town work, and if we don't have it functioning properly, it would be a major blow for our economy and workforce.''
Australian Education Union concerns about the UCIT model include that it could hive off the most lucrative courses and marginalise existing CIT services.
University of Canberra vice-chancellor Stephen Parker said yesterday he could ''understand why impending vocational education reforms would cause the government to want to look at this again''.
But he expressed dismay with the way the future of the UC and CIT had been handled since former ACT education minister Andrew Barr commissioned the Bradley Review.
''The ACT government commissioned the nation's expert for advice, she gave that advice, and to this point, none of that advice has been accepted,'' Professor Parker said.
Federal Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans agreed, saying yesterday, ''It is unclear why Professor Bradley's recommendations on future collaborations between CIT and UC have not been accepted, but I understand this is an important issue for the ACT government, and recognise the autonomy of the UC.''
Last year the Commonwealth committed $26 million to the UC in structural adjustment funding to allow it to set up a polytechnic - a model of vocational training which has since been subsumed by the UCIT proposal.''
Professor Parker said that regardless of the ACT Government's decision on whether to go ahead in linking UC with the CIT, the UC would be expanding.
''We will be moving ahead and growing - whether it is through our own polytechnic, the UCIT or through the UC College,'' Professor Parker said.
But he would need to wait until the ACT government made a decision before it would release the $26 million to the UC.
ACT Liberal education spokesman Steve Doszpot said the whole issue had descended into the bizarre.
''I think it is clear that this minister is not across his portfolio,'' Mr Doszpot said.
''The government has kept the community and both institutions out of the dialogue about this potential merger and it is absolutely unacceptable.''
While Mr Doszpot said there was ''some logic'' to seeing the COAG offer, he was concerned the poor handling of the issue would continue.
