New Zealand Tertiary College 25 years old
New Zealand Tertiary College – a 700-student, 70-staff, private institute for early childhood teacher education –
celebrates its 25th anniversary this month.
NZTC Chief Executive Selena Fox said the 25th anniversary showed the strong foundations that the Auckland-based college
had, and its continued and accelerating growth showed it was also leading the way in developing new and innovative
education practices.
“We are literally bursting with expertise and opportunity, and we are a college that continually takes new and bold
steps to support early childhood teacher education .
“Inspiring leaders, a talented and dedicated team, innovation and meeting challenges – it’s a rich mix that we see
taking us through the next 25 years to our 50 year anniversary.”
NZTC offers a Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education), a diploma and certificate programmes in early childhood
teacher education from its campuses in Auckland and Christchurch.
All programmes are offered nationally through distance learning. Classroom teaching is planned for the Christchurch
campus from March.
NZTC Managing Director Glennie Oborn, who started NZTC in 1982, is also the Managing Director of Kindercare, one of New
Zealand’s largest chains of early childhood education centres, which she founded in 1972.
Frustrated by the lack of professional training available in the 1970s to early childhood workers, Ms Oborn began
running workshops and in-house training. The response was so good she set up the college in Auckland with an initial
intake of 12 students and 1 tutor.
The college grew rapidly and in 1991 it was the first PTE to be registered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
In 1997 NZTC was granted approval by New Zealand Teachers’ Council to offer a three year Diploma of Teaching (Early
Childhood Education) that would lead to teacher registration in New Zealand. This year NZTC started its degree
programme.
ENDS