SIT should not be ‘punished’

Southern Institute of Technology chief executive Penny Simmonds has voiced concerns with the Tertiary Education Commission that the institute should not be punished or disadvantaged because of the state of others throughout the country.

Simmonds and about 500 SIT staff, council members, students and community members, met with the commission yesterday to discuss the future of the institute.

The commission was in Invercargill as part of an Institutes of Technology and Polytechs (ITP) Roadmap 2020 review, which is reviewing possible changes to the structure and operations of the 16 institutes of technology and polytechs (ITPs) throughout New Zealand.

The Government is concerned about the financial state of many ITPs, with several large institutes experiencing significant losses and the sector as a whole having a $53 million loss in 2017.

However, SIT had a $4 million surplus in 2017 and is regarded as one of the most successful ITPs in the country.

The institute already has its own well-established zero fees scheme, but there was concern from some quarters that its competitive advantage would be seriously undercut by the Government’s nationwide fees-free scheme for first-year tertiary students, introduced this year.

Simmonds said she was pleased with the turnout of those who met with the commission and that it was one of the largest turnouts in the country for the roadshow.

She said that they wanted to be assured their concerns were being heard – that the regions were important, a one-size-fits all was not always the best fit, and nor was becoming centralised.

SIT’s financial model was working, even with frugality around the reliance on international students, she said.

It should not be punished or disadvantaged because of the state of other ITPs throughout the country, Simmonds said.

‘‘We don’t want something that’s working to be put aside . . .’’

On the East Coast, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology returned a 2017 deficit of $10 million after taking in 1000 fewer students. It’s a similar story at the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, NorthTec in Northland and Nelson Marlborough IT.

Unitec in Auckland had a deficit of $31m and 660 fewer students; it is projecting a shortfall of $19m this year and another $27m the following year.

SIT is slightly down on student numbers from last year.

There were 3711 SIT fulltime equivalent students at April 23, compared to 3578 students in April 2017.

The Roadmap 2020 document says ‘‘student numbers are in decline for most ITPs, with domestic student numbers reducing by nearly a third in the past 10 years.’’

The tertiary commission will conduct meetings around the country on the Roadmap 2020 document and Education Minister Chris Hipkins will report to Cabinet in December with possible options for change.

‘‘We don’t want something that’s working to be put aside . . .’’ Southern Institute of Technology chief executive Penny Simmonds