Coast polytech under fire

West Coast leaders say merging the struggling local polytechnic with another institution is ‘‘the last thing we want’’, despite a poor government appraisal.

Tai Poutini Polytechnic was last week ordered to appoint Invercargill’s Southern Institute of Technology to moderate its assessments after the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) gave it a category 4 ranking – the lowest ever received by a public institution.

The classification coincided with the auditor-general’s refusal to confirm Tai Poutini as a ‘‘going concern’’, reporting the polytechnic ‘‘cannot yet provide us with adequate audit evidence’’ it would be able to meet its financial obligations.

These changes have strengthened speculation Tai Poutini, the recipient of a $3.6 million government bailout in April, will have to merge with another institution to avoid closure.

Chief executive Alex Cabrera said it was too early to judge the outcome of a business case before Education Minister Chris Hipkins.

Hipkins will consider a merger alongside other options presented by the polytechnic, which has been under Crown management since December 2016.

Findings of a separate investigation into whether or not it delivered taxpayer-funded courses were yet to be released.

In a statement, Cabrera said the findings were ‘‘disappointing but not a surprise’’.

‘‘Management and staff were working on the issues raised in the report for some time; many of the issues were identified internally in 2016.’’

Crown manager Murray Strong’s involvement and the formation of a new council represented of ‘‘good progress’’ in the past year.

Since 2013, several senior staff have resigned and enrolments have dropped about 23 per cent. Two-thirds of the polytech’s students train outside the West Coast region.