Have we lost a precious resource?
Former Aoraki Polytechnic tutor and department head Ken Linscott has concerns about what its merger has meant for the South Canterbury community
Iwant to comment on an article published in the Herald on March 17, entitled ‘‘Polytech improves openness’’, because personally hold strong feelings about the demise of our Aoraki Polytechnic, which I helped to develop.
Has Aoraki Polytechnic been stolen from our local skilled, community-focused, ruralorientated, resource of people in South Canterbury?
It concerns me that the perceived reason for the merger which created the Ara Institute of Canterbury may have stymied the career growth of some people within our South Canterbury community.
With a Southland farming family background, I have been impressed at the innovative and generous people who developed our South Canterbury province. This past weekend’s Caroline Bay Rock and Hop event was another innovative local achievement.
As a qualified mechanical engineer from a practical and management background, I was one of the first Heads of Department at Aoraki Polytechnic, when it evolved out of the South Canterbury Community College, from 1984 until 1994.
Converting and upgrading Timaru’s former Technical College, establishing a close business rapport with schools, industry, businesses and the community, and then developing courses to suit, were challenging developmental years for the polytechnic!
I came to Timaru in November 1980 from experience in the developing Hawke’s Bay Community College in Taradale, which grew into the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), where we were privileged to be led by Dr John Harre NZOM, PhD, B.A. Dip.Tchg.
I was impressed with Dr Harre’s perspective that Maori needed to be wooed back into the mainstream of New Zealand life.
HBCC was New Zealand’s first community college, a ‘‘tertiary education laboratory’’ in effect.
In 2016 it celebrated its 40th year in existence and its operations now encompass both the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne provinces, offering a wide range of courses, some to degree level, successfully honouring New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.
From 1999 to 2006 a successful Aoraki Polytechnic management team led Aoraki out of a $2 million financial loss to a $22m profit. That was managed strictly within the Tertiary Education Commission’s equivalent full-time student funding rules at that time.
Through good teamwork, excellent staff, and community support, Aoraki developed nationally significant courses in outdoor recreation, journalism, hospitality, agriculture, and community education, respecting our Treaty partners, who generously allowed us to use the Aoraki name.
International students responded to these local initiatives.
The team in 2006 understood how to provide their small regional communities with the educational opportunities needed.
The TEC regulations of the time provided smaller institutes with the financial opportunities to enable that, within the competitive model then favoured by the Government.
Was this small, successful regional polytechnic an embarrassment to larger institutions?
No effort was made by government to enable the South Canterbury community to celebrate the initial successful development and achievements of Aoraki Polytechnic at its time of dissolution. Perhaps there is a wider culture of embargoes operating at higher management level than just with Te Ara?
Was the cost of the Ara rebranding taken from the $22m mentioned above, just a whim that was financially embarrassing to them?
But is this a much wider issue that needs addressing both regionally and nationally in the run-up to the coming elections? I would suggest it is!
I would suggest it relates to the qualities espoused by our founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, which was written and witnessed by people of integrity, settlers and indigenous people, who understood the foibles of humankind.
Truth, honesty, respect, vision, trust, transparency, empathy are some of the many words that describe what I mean. Any government-funded agency delivering a service or programme of work to the taxpayers of New Zealand should be bound, and indeed judged, by how well it abides by these principles.
Ara to date has been very poor, in my opinion. I would hope it lifts its game in the future.
Only time will tell.