Cullen criticises universities for avoiding comparison

By STUART DYE

Two of the countries' leading universities have come in for political criticism for their stance against comparison with their British counterparts.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen yesterday took a swipe at Auckland and Victoria universities for seeking a order banning publication of the comparison.

The comparison was to be published as part of the Government's new Performance-Based Research Fund report, which will dictate how much money universities receive.

An interim injunction has been granted until Justice Hugh Williams decides if the comparison is legal.

Speaking at a Herald-hosted business breakfast yesterday, Dr Cullen criticised the universities' reluctance to be benchmarked against British institutions and talked about the challenges of improving productivity to compete in international markets.

"In an economy as small as New Zealand's, we cannot afford to take a confrontational approach to challenges as important as this," he said.

United Future leader Peter Dunne also backed the Tertiary Education Commission's call to debate the comparison publicly rather than try to close it down.

"Let's know where we stand. If there are deficiencies, we are then in a position to address them properly; if there are strengths, then we can further build on them," he said.

An Auckland University official said the universities believed the comparison was flawed.