Labor's plan to scrap RTS shows some promise: CAPA

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Association's welcomed the Labor Party's announcement today that it would repeal the Research Training Scheme (RTS) if elected.

"The RTS allocates postgraduate research places to universities using a formula which rewards institutions with high completion rates. That might sound like a good idea, but it's a simplistic practice which encourages universities to enrol 'safe' students.

"That means saying 'no' to students with speculative projects, students with the kind of creative ideas we should be encouraging. It also means saying 'no' to students with disabilities, or students who might need to take longer because of their personal circumstances," said CAPA President Stephen Horton today.

"It's also a bureaucratic nightmare for universities to administer, diverting desperately needed funds away from departments and research centres," Mr Horton continued.

"Minister Nelson spent a lot of time reviewing the RTS last year, but ended up putting it in the too-hard basket. He's sticking with the status quo, wasting funding and wasting research talent." However, CAPA was concerned that Labor had not yet made clear what alternative it would offer.

"Senator Carr has not told us what Labor would offer in replacement," Mr Horton said. "We need good funding going straight to departments, to ensure that they can supply adequate supervision and resources for postgraduates.

"An end to the simplistic formula driven approach of the RTS is great. Now we need to make sure that that $540 million gets to where it's needed - departments and research centres - rather than Minister Nelson's red tape machine at DEST," Mr Horton concluded.