There is little to celebrate on Te Pūkenga’s third birthday this week, National’s Tertiary Education spokesperson and Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says.
“After three years, it is shameful that the Government’s polytechnic mega-merger still doesn’t have an operating model and as a result, has no direction or accountability.
“All of this is taking a significant toll, with staff morale at an all-time low, student enrolments plummeting by ten per cent, and the organisation looking down the barrel of a $63 million deficit.
“Of course the future of SIT’s zero-fees in Southland also hangs in the balance, with no one knowing what the future holds.
“This polytechnic merger has been a disaster from day one and so it’s no surprise that the Auditor General reported last week, that Te Pukenga’s lack of an operating model could ‘affect public trust and confidence in the organisation.’
“When I raised these concerns with the Education Minister in Parliament last week, Jan Tinetti said she expected Te Pūkenga’s operating model would just ‘evolve over time, once the organisation matures.’
“This is a ridiculous proposition and shows how out of touch the Education Minister is and how oblivious she is to the need to get this merger focused in the right direction.
“The lack of accountability is also an insult to staff, students and taxpayers who’ve already spent $200 million funding this Crown entity that has only made New Zealand’s vocational education sector worse.
“On its third birthday, it couldn’t be clearer that the centralised Te Pūkenga polytechnic mega-merger is a failure. A National Government would stop the centralisation of the polytechnic sector and focus on educational outcomes for our students.”