University Provision in South Auckland

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University Provision in South Auckland

The National Secretary of the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education, Sharn Riggs responded to the announcement yesterday of AUT’s intention to open a campus in South Auckland by saying that the move was a positive one for students in the South Auckland area. However she went on to say that the union was puzzled that this move didn’t seem to involve Manukau Institute of Technology, the major provider of tertiary education in the South Auckland region. “Given the direction of the tertiary education reforms, we would have thought that any such move would have been done in partnership with MIT” Ms Riggs said.

Riggs further observed that the last thing that is needed in South Auckland is a competitive environment where the two institutions are vying for a community of students. “We are only now beginning to see the benefits of cooperation between institutions and our members need some confidence that this move doesn’t create the potential for duplication in areas such as nursing and foundation courses for example” she said.

“We also noted that in this same announcement the Tertiary Education Commission is initiating a strategic review of tertiary education provision and engagement across Auckland. This is long overdue” Riggs said. “ASTE has been lobbying for such a move for some time now and welcomes this announcement and expects to be involved in this important consultation process. Our members are critical to the success of students’ engagement with tertiary education across the whole region”.

ENDS

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