Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce yesterday announced plans to cut the maximum size of university and wananga governing councils from 20 members to 12.
Mr Joyce said the changes would strengthen university and wananga governance and help New Zealand universities remain internationally competitive.
But the changes immediately came under fire from University of Otago student and staff representatives, who said the moves could reduce staff and student input at university council and undermine academic freedom.
Otago University chancellor John Ward was overseas yesterday, and no other comment was available from the university.
The Ministry of Education is co-ordinating consultation over the proposed changes and public submissions close on November 12.
It was proposed to cut university and wananga councils from a range of 12 to 20 members to eight to 12 members, and make council membership requirements ''more flexible'' by removing specific representative requirements, Mr Joyce said.
Councils could also retain representative positions for different stakeholder groups if they wished.
New Zealand universities had been ''performing very well in a world context'', but faced several ''critical challenges, such as greater competitive pressure resulting from massive investment in the university sector across the developing world, and the emergence of online course provision'', he said.
Smaller and ''more flexible'' councils would help New Zealand universities to be ''nimbler, more adaptable, and better organised'' than their overseas counterparts, he said.
Otago University Students' Association president Francisco Hernandez said the Government was ''attacking student representation'' on university councils.
And the Government had failed to ''show any evidence of problems'' caused by the current university governance system.
There are four ministerial appointees on the 17-strong Otago University Council.
Mr Hernandez said student input could be reduced if the council was reduced in size, and ministerial appointees would have a much stronger influence in a smaller council, putting academic freedom at risk.
Tertiary Education Union (TEU) Otago University branch co-president Teresa La Rooy said the proposed changes would reduce staff input and the diversity of views on the university council.
