It's weird and not so wonderful

THAT there is any rhyme or reason to higher education policy and funding these days was given the kybosh last night as random decision-making was the name of the game.

Why universities should be hit by a "efficiency measure" to help fund the Gonski reforms would be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic.

Why the government funded 1650 postgraduate (and enabling) places while it sits on a discussion paper and refuses to engage in a debate about the irrationality of the current system is ridiculous. What makes it even more ridiculous is that the budget papers show the government intends to fund no more postgraduate research students than the current 3500 a year - the ones who will get PhDs and be drivers of the new knowledge economy.

For those who don't remember, that's the knowledge economy that Julia Gillard persuaded Treasury to fund in the 2009 budget under the Bradley reforms. That reform process is now, if not in tatters, looking pretty shabby as the government has chipped away at key initiatives and cut funds to research, equity, student support and life-long learning.

Why the government included $238 million for the establishment of its "industry innovation precincts", while cutting key research funding in October is just weird. Especially when it has a program, co-operative research centres, that successfully unite industry and university researchers to produce cutting-edge solutions to real-life problems.

Why it continues to trifle with various vocational programs while continuing a war with the states over TAFE funding is a curiosity.

The big issue - per-student funding - has been avoided, once again, adding to the pressure.

Gillard's plan to give Aussie students a stint in an Asian university got an extra year of funding above that already announced, but that's probably trying to grab back some of the limelight after deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop's reverse Colombo plan grabbed the imagination of one and all.