Tertiary Education Strategy misses the mark
Students at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) are concerned with the signals coming from Government that
excessive student fees could once again be on the agenda, says Rachel Boyack, President of the Student Association of
Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology Inc. (SANITI).
The Government’s Tertiary Education Strategy, released yesterday, states that “The Government is committed to
maintaining reasonable fees for students, but will explore ways of giving providers some additional flexibility to raise
revenue.”
“Given this comes on the back of funding cuts for Polytechnics, students are concerned this statement opens the door for
institutions to look to students to make up their revenue shortfalls,” said Boyack.
“Anne Tolley needs to come clean about her Government’s plan to scrap Fee and Course Cost Maxima and further burden New
Zealand’s tertiary students with debt,” Boyack continued.
Students are also worried that institutions may be unfairly penalised for so-called “poor performance” in the areas of
retention and completion rates, and that institutions will cut courses that don’t perform financially, but provide an
important benefit to the local community.
“We have already witnessed institutions making decisions that affect learners and the community poorly, due to the
Government’s narrow focus on ‘education outcomes’,” said Boyack.
“The Supported Training Programme at NMIT for students with Intellectual Disabilities has had places cut from 125 to 50
next year, and courses that were traditionally studied part time, such as the Degree in Visual Arts and Design, have had
time limits placed on them, cutting out students who wish to mix study with work and family commitments,” said Boyack.
“Students may complete a course, but not a full programme, yet that learning is not considered valid under the new
strategy. However, for the employer who paid for their employee to complete a course as part of an up skilling
programme, the completion of that one course may provide huge productivity gains for their business,” added Boyack.
“Once again, we have a narrow vision from this Government about what education is, and the value it adds to learners,
their families, their communities and the local economy,” concluded Boyack.
ENDS