Te Pūkenga HQ may be cut as providers merge
The disestablishment of Te Pūkenga will likely see its head office cut and several providers merged, the Tertiary Education Minister has signalled.
Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, which was established in 2020 to run the country’s 16 polytechnics and nine industry training organisations, is in the process of being disestablished, though it is unclear exactly what this will involve.
Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds had previously suggested she would like to see the number of institutions under Te Pūkenga halved, noting legislative changes would also be required.
Simmonds appeared alongside Tertiary Education Commission chief executive Tim Fowler at the education and workforce select committee yesterday.
She was asked if more funding had been requested for the disestablishment process, with Simmonds saying she had made a “budget bid” but there would have to be changes to the operating structure.
“The thing that concerned me about Te Pūkenga was those ITPs [institutes of technology and polytechnics] that went into Te Pūkenga that were running quite substantial deficits. There was no targeting or fixing those problems. So Te Pūkenga has essentially added a layer of head office on top of, and instead of, the first actions being to fix the areas where there were being major deficits.”
There were some “really significant viability issues” for some of the institutions.
“Yes, there is going to have to be some rationalisation,” she said. “I believe there will have to be some mergers. I do believe there will have to be some changes.
“Getting rid of the very expensive head office is one part of pulling back on some of the expenditure.”
Asked how much money could be saved through getting rid of the head office, based in Hamilton, Simmonds did not give an exact figure but said it would be a “substantial amount”.
She and Fowler were also asked about cuts to university offerings around the country
Fowler said there was “no risk” of courses not being offered nationwide. Universities had a “very comprehensive range of courses” and he felt they could be more selective in their approach.