Cullen does ostrich on under-funding
Announcements made today by Tertiary Education Minister Dr. Michael Cullen are merely changing the window dressing and
not addressing the on-going issue of under-funding.
“The key problem in the tertiary sector is under-funding. This newly announced funding model promises nothing to address
the issue of under-funding,” stated Otago Polytechnic Students’ Association Co-president Natalie Absalom.
OPSA agrees that the current demand-driven, or “bums-on-seats”, funding model is flawed and has consistently advocated
for its replacement. However, despite claims that the new model addresses these flaws, all it does is put the current
issue into different wording.
“If you don’t have enough bricks to build a house, no matter how often you move those bricks around, you are still not
going to be able to build that house,” said Ms. Absalom.
Adding to this new system will create more issues especially for the Institute of Technology / Polytechnic sector. A
portion of a Polytechnic’s core business is learners that are up-skilling.
“Under a model that funds completions only, both that institutions and the learner may be left out in the cold as far as
funding is concerned. Essentially this model could actively discourage up-skilling by refusing to fund it” stated OPSA
Co-president Richard Mitchell.
ENDS