Canterbury merger must put regional students first
Canterbury polytechnic merger must put regional students first
The tertiary education minister’s decision today to merge Aoraki and CPIT looks like a rushed takeover, says TEU national president Sandra Grey.
Grey says, now that the merger is going ahead, CPIT management need to voice their support for high quality face-to-face tertiary education in Canterbury, South Canterbury and North Otago’s regions and small towns.
“People in Timaru, Oamaru and Ashburton need to hear that CPIT management cares about the courses Aoraki people provide for their future students.”
“This merger has to be about education, not about cost cutting. Otherwise it is not going to work.”
TEU’s Aoraki branch president Carol Soal says the minister has left the two polytechnics only weeks to manage a successful merger to take place on 1 Januarynext year.
“Staff and students across Canterbury and South Canterbury are already planning their lives for next year. They need security that the new, merged polytechnic cares about them and will protect their education opportunities,” says Soal.
ENDS