Polytechnic Cash Given To Private Businesses

Media Release
Tertiary Education Union

27 September 2012

Polytechnic Cash Given To Private Businesses

The government has stripped $12 million out of New Zealand's public network of polytechnics and gifted it to private for-profit companies.

The minister of tertiary education announced yesterday that the Tertiary Education Commission has run a competitive process over recent weeks to allocate approximately $38 million of funding for fees-free level 1 and 2 courses, including $12 million to private tertiary enterprises (PTEs).

What he fails to mention, says TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs, is that $38 million is not new money but money cut from polytechnics around the country during this year's budget.

“Mr Joyce took $12 million out of our public education system and gave it to companies that want to make a profit off students.”

“There are some good PTEs out there doing great work. But polytechnics are a fundamental part of our public education system giving students and towns around New Zealand skills and training to contribute to our economy and communities.”

“Polytechnics have already faced ongoing cuts in government funding for the last few years. Now they are losing what funding still remains because the commission is giving it away to private businesses instead.”

“The minister says that six polytechnics and one wananga won funding from the tender process. That means that two wananga and twelve polytechnics received no funding from that pool of $38 million,” said Sharn Riggs.

ENDS

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