Telford’s future uncertain
Telford is ending 2018 without much certainty of what the new year will bring.
Discussions are continuing behind closed doors about who will be the next tertiary provider following the news that Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre had gone into receivership last week, throwing the future of the Telford campus near Balclutha and its staff and students into uneasy uncertainty over Christmas.
One of them is Iriea Tauiti, a farm scholarship awardee and part of the contingent of Whenua Kura Ma¯ ori students who swelled numbers at the Telford campus when Taratahi took over in late 2017.
The 18-year-old, from Paheke in Northland, was hoping to start a diploma in agriculture at Telford next year.
‘‘It’s all been a bit of a shock . . . I’m very disappointed. I had it all set up, and now I don’t know what’s going to happen.’’
He said he had been told students would be informed around January 14 how the year was going to proceed.
In the meantime, Tauiti, who has a mother, three brothers and grandmother in Northland, is working for a fencing contractor at Clinton during the summer.
There is speculation that Telford could be ripe for a takeover by the Dunedin-based Otago Polytechnic and possibly also the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) once more looking to take on stewardship, having been put into the mix in 2016, when former tertiary provider Lincoln University cut its ties.
Telford Farm board chairman Richard Farquhar could not be contacted this week and Clutha District mayor Bryan Cadogan declined to comment on the possibility.
However, on Monday Cadogan intimated that there was a range of options being looked at.
‘‘Discussions and the formulation of a proposal are moving forward positively and while the holiday period is proving challenging to progress matters, everyone is aware of the timeframes and we are still optimistic of a successful outcome.’’
Lincoln University cut its ties with the Balclutha-based division in 2016, which was followed by the Taratahi takeover in 2017.
It gave Telford fresh hope, and a roll that was starting to rebuild for the 2019 academic year, which includes a new level 4 dairying course to reflect the high demand for skilled people in this sector.
It was not yet known what impact Taratahi’s demise, brought on by having to pay a $8.6 million debt to the Tertiary Education Commission on courses it failed to deliver, would have on the 70-plus students who have enrolled for next year.
NZ First spokesman for agriculture Mark Patterson said the crisis highlighted the work that needed to be done to ensure there was the ‘‘right agriculture training model to meet industry needs’’.
Telford had a strong financial performance, despite the woes of its parent organisation, he said.
Despite the difficulties, he had confidence that because of the significant demand for qualified agricultural workers in Otago and Southland, that there would be a positive outcome.