Polytechnic mergers not ruled out - Hipkins
Polytechnic mergers are not being ruled out as
the sector tries to find a way to survive mounting financial
pressures.
Photo: 123RF Education
Minister Chris Hipkins met with institute chief executives in
Auckland today to discuss the problem, which is
expected to lead to most of the 16 institutes of technology
and polytechnics making deficits within five years. Mr
Hipkins said the institutes were struggling with falling
enrolments and it was clear the polytechnic system must
change. "We've got a number of polytechs who are already
in financial strife and others who are looking to the future
and seeing that that will probably be them if things don't
change, so there is a mood for change," he said. "We're
not going into this with a set agenda, but clearly the
status quo is not an option." Yesterday, Mr Hipkins announced a $33 million
bailout for the West Coast's Tai Poutini
Polytechnic, which he said was no longer viable in its
current form and might need to merge with another
institution.
Today he did not rule out the possibility of
other mergers. "Having 16 autonomous institutions clearly
is resulting in huge overhead costs that perhaps isn't the
most efficient and effective way of organising things, so
I'm taking a fairly open approach to that discussion," Mr
Hipkins said. "It might be that mergers are involved or it
might be that an entirely different way of operating might
be decided for the future." One of the co-hosts of today's
meeting, Manukau Institute of Technology chief executive Gus
Gilmore, said the institutes could work together more
closely. However, he said funding was definitely a
problem. "$20 million injected back into this sector right
now would make a big difference." National Party tertiary
education spokesperson Paul Goldsmith said he doubted the
government would be able to find much funding to help
polytechnics because it had already committed more than $2bn
to student support. He said the government's plans to
limit foreign students' access to work visas was also
hurting the sector because it was damaging their
enrolments. Competitive tendering axed The government
has cancelled a competitive funding system, which resulted
in the transfer of millions of dollars in subsidies from
Crown-owned polytechnics to private tertiary institutions
during the past five years. The system was phased in by
the previous government after 2012, and required institutes
to bid for subsidies for certificate courses at levels 1-4
of the Qualifications Framework. Mr Hipkins said the
system created instability and from next year up to $135
million in funding for the courses would be allocated
according to enrolments rather than competitive
tenders. "The competitive model is another failed
ideological experiment of the previous National government,"
Mr Hipkins said. "We don't do competitive funding for
schools or university degrees, so why would we do it for
non-degree tertiary study?" Mr Gilmore said the change
would make it easier for polytechnics to offer a clear
pathway from foundation courses through to higher
education. "We think that's critical for our communities
here in Ōtara, and I suspect it's no different in Whangarei
or Whitireia or Nelson for that matter. Independent
Tertiary Education New Zealand chairperson Craig Musson said
it was not clear if the change would shift funding from the
private sector to institutes of technology and that was
"always a concern". However, Mr Musson said the
competitive system did not work well. "It meant a lot of
providers got a big amount of money, often more than they
needed, it was drive by price rather than quality and a lot
of providers lost that funding for no reason in the next
allocation process or the next competitive tender, so there
didn't seem to be any fair rules around it," he
said.