Nats’ tertiary education claims refuted
The National Party says a polytechnic sector review next week will involve the amalgamation of many regional polytechnics and 1000 jobs being put at risk, but the Government has hit back at the claims.
National Party spokesman for tertiary education Shane Reti said a number of senior industry sources had told him the proposed changes from the review would include centralising many of the functions currently undertaken by polytechnics and many of the polytechnics would be forced to amalgamate into regional hub type structures.
‘‘Amalgamation and centralisation on a national scale will reduce education and training opportunities in the regions,’’ he said.
Education minister Chris Hipkins said he could not go into the proposals ahead of consultation next week.
But he did say that instead of regional polytechnics and institutes of technology retrenching, cutting programmes and closing campuses, the Government needed them to expand their course delivery throughout the country.
The Government needed a model where businesses, Iwi and local government in every region played an active role in driving skills development, he said.
It needed a system of training and skills development that was more flexible and nimble so it could get people with the right skills into jobs faster.
Southern Institute of Technology chief executive Penny Simmonds said she could not comment until she had heard the minister’s announcement next week.
Last year she 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.
The Government is concerned about the financial state of many institutes of technology and polytechs and is reviewing possible changes to the structure and operations.
Simmonds said SIT had a $4 million surplus in 2017 and was regarded as one of the most successful institutes of technology in the country.
Reti, yesterday, said the National Party understood and agreed some sector reform was necessary for the polytechnics that struggled.
‘‘We indicated that several years ago with the partial amalgamation of Whitireia and WelTec.
‘‘A few polytechnic functions may be suitable for centralisation and the benefits that would bring, however, a number of polytechnics are high performing and fiscally sound, and mass amalgamation and centralisation
will diminish their good
work.’’
He said he understood that 1000 jobs were at risk with the restructure and that their functions would be performed centrally.
Under mass amalgamation and centralisation skills would be lost to the regions, he said.
Hipkins, however, said the previous National Government allowed New Zealand’s vocational education system to drift so badly it had let businesses, young people and communities down.
It was in need of a reset, he said. The wild claims ahead of government consultation on proposals to reform the vocational education sector were shameful and irresponsible, he said. He accused the National Party of plucking the 1000 job loss figure out of thin air.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the proposals to be announced for consultation next week are far reaching, but they need to be.
‘‘We currently have a vocational education system that is in many cases struggling.
During the past two years the Government had spent $100m to bail out four polytechnics and that pattern started before Labour led government took office.
There was a duplication of courses and lack of consistency across the sector, she said.