Wairarapa Community Polytechnic To Merge With UCOL
The proposed incorporation of Wairarapa Community Polytechnic into UCOL will go ahead from 1 January 2001, Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education) Steve Maharey announced today.
Wairarapa Community Polytechnic has been experiencing financial difficulties and was given a Crown loan in March to give it time to determine how it can best secure the future of tertiary provision in the region. In May the polytechnic sought to merge with Palmerston North-based UCOL. Mr Maharey said the Government has carefully considered the merger proposal, and the public submissions it attracted, and is convinced that the plan will give tertiary education in Wairarapa a new lease on life.
"I am pleased that, working together, Wairarapa Community Polytechnic and UCOL have been able to develop a win-win solution which preserves and enhances tertiary provision in the region.
"The educational and strategic
benefits of the merger are clear and persuasive, and
include:
retaining access to tertiary education
opportunities in the Wairarapa region through the use of
both distance delivery by technology and a local
campus;
reducing the operational and delivery
costs of the institution to a viable level;
preserving a sense of local iwi and community ownership as
well as a Wairarapa identity for the provision of tertiary
education through a local Board of Studies and Community
Advisory Group;
providing for the “future
orientated” provision of tertiary education in the
Wairarapa, by opening the door to a change in the teaching
model through the use of current information and
communication technologies; and,
ensuring that
the Wairarapa community would be able to benefit from any
potential changes of government policy in the tertiary
sector.
“The merger is also consistent with our policy to encourage greater cooperation and collaboration between New Zealand's tertiary institutions. Better use of the funds advanced for tertiary education is essential if we are to ensure that regional communities can access the appropriate mix of quality education and skills training.
"In this case, UCOL, working in partnership with Wairarapa Community Polytechnic, will produce clear educational benefits that Wairarapa alone simply does not have the resources to deliver.
“Public submissions indicated quite clearly that the Wairarapa community supports the proposal in order to ensure the retention of a Wairarapa campus and the greatest educational benefits for the wider Wairarapa community.
"I urge Wairarapa residents and employers to support UCOL@Wairarapa. The reinvigorated campus will have the backing of a major regional tertiary institution and with local support has a secure future," Steve Maharey said.
Ends