UNITEC Decision devastating For Auckland

11 August 2005

UNITEC DECISION devastating For Auckland and Waitakere City By Dr Pita R. Sharples

Speaking from West Auckland today Dr Pita R. Sharples; Educationalist and Chairman of Hoani Waititi Marae said “He was flabbergasted by Minister Mallard’s decision not to award University status to Unitec.” He said the TEI had fulfilled all the requirements and needed to be treated on the same basis as the AIT application was on behalf of AUT.

This Unitec application should have been considered by the characteristic set out in the Education Act and the NZQA Guidelines, and any comparison with the profile of an established research-led university is totally out of order.

Government has deliberately gone outside of the criteria to decline this application. The negative repercussions from such a decision are enormous. The needs of Waitakere and West Auckland have been ignored; there has been insufficient recognition of the seamless education service to disadvantaged students at Unitec, and the decision is totally unfair to the Unitec students and graduates who have undertaken university level studies.

Dr Pita R. Sharples CBE, Ph.D., MA., Dip.Tchg., J.P. T.T., T.H.

ENDS

© Scoop Media