Hipkins raises spectre of polytech closures
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has questioned whether New Zealand needs 16 polytechs, raising the possibility some of them could be forced to close.
Earlier on Thursday he said all options were on the table as he headed to a crisis meeting with representatives from the sector.
‘‘I’m not going to say anything about closures but the system might look different to the way it does now,’’ Hipkins said.
‘‘We’ve got to look at whether a small country like New Zealand can sustain 16 different organisations.’’
Industry leaders have sounded alarm bells over the future of the country’s polytechnic institutes, which face falling enrolments and rising costs.
More than 5000 students were lost last year and the Tertiary Education Union said it was contributing to a ‘‘funding crisis’’.
Hipkins said there was broad acceptance of the need for an overhaul.
‘‘It’s a sector that’s clearly feeling the pressure, with good reason,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve seen a drop in enrolments, and a funding freeze for the best part of a decade.’’
Hipkins also appeared to suggest the polytechs could trim some unnecessary fat, remarking ‘‘there’s a lot of overhead in the system, a lot of administration’’.
Tertiary Education Union president Sandra Grey told Radio NZ it was unsustainable for tertiary education to be viewed as a market that could be propped up by private funding.
She said it was important all polytechs in New Zealand remained open so that further education opportunities were available to those living in the regions.
Hipkins said he would be attending Thursday’s meeting with an open mind to hear what the industry had to say.
‘‘I’m not going into this with a fixed agenda,’’ he said. ‘‘Everything except for the status quo is on the table.’’
Hipkins earlier announced at a Vocational Education and Training Forum in Auckland that the competitive funding model would be scrapped for tertiary education providers.
He described it as a ‘‘failed ideological experiment’’.
‘‘It forced tertiary education providers to bid against each other for a share of funding across two competitive processes and created needless instability in the sector.
‘‘We don’t do competitive funding for schools or university degrees, so why would we do it for non-degree tertiary study?’’
Competitive allocations of funding at New Zealand Qualification Framework levels 1 to 4 will be stopped, ‘‘to give providers greater funding certainty, and so they can focus more on the students’’, Hipkins said.
‘‘From 2019, the up-to-$135 million of funding will return to being on the basis of student enrolments.
‘‘It removes uncertainty and will enable providers to properly plan and develop programmes, build tutor capacity and focus on what they do best – improving the quality of outcomes for New Zealand’s learners.’’
This would better meet the needs of our ‘‘regions’ learners and employers in a rapidly changing world’’, Hipkins said.
The change affects all Student Achievement Component funding at levels 1 and 2, as well as funding at levels 3 and 4 for courses focusing on agriculture, horticulture and viticulture.
‘‘Funding from 2019 will now be allocated by the Tertiary Education Commission through the 2018 Investment Plan process.’’
Following the Budget in May a plan around transition arrangements for the affected tertiary providers will be announced.