Shake-up for polytechs expected today
New Zealand polytechs may merge or close as a result of a major shake-up of the sector.
Proposals to reform the ‘‘broken’’ polytechnics and institutes of technology (ITPs) will be announced at Parliament this afternoon.
A review of the structure and operations of the country’s 16 ITPs was launched early last year following concern over their financial sustainability.
The sector as a whole lost $53 million in 2017. Four ITPs – Greymouth’s Tai Poutini Polytechnic, Wellington’s Whitireia and WelTec, and Unitec in Auckland – together received $100m in Crown bailouts last year.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins, who had previously called the sector ‘‘broken’’, said several more institutions are ‘‘on borrowed time’’.
‘‘More polytechnics are at serious risk if we do not act decisively.’’
Asked whether all regions would retain access to tertiary education, Hipkins said regions with skills shortages needed more vocational courses.
‘‘Under the previous [National Party] government, vocational education was allowed to drift,’’ he claimed.
‘‘We’ve seen enrolments drop and polytechnics retrench.
‘‘This Government is committed to bridging the gap between what employers need and what our training organisations provide.’’
The number of domestic students training at polytechnics and other training institutes fell by more than 23,000 between 2011 and 2017, according to Ministry of Education figures.
The proposals released today will be open to public consultation.