11 December 2015

High risk institutions tip of tertiary iceberg

Five high risk tertiary institutions are just the tip of the iceberg that is threatening the sector, Labour’s Associate Education (Tertiary) spokesperson David Cunliffe says.

"After a real funding cut in Budget 2015, a massive transfer of resources from the public to private tertiary sector, and weak monitoring and oversight systems, National has no-one to blame but itself.

"Canterbury, Lincoln and UNITEC are major public institutions and their precarious financial state is of huge concern.

“ Te Whare Wanaga Awanuiarangi was deeply implicated in a major rorting scandal and owes millions.

“The proposed $100 million Lincoln Hub is at the centre of the AgResearch debacle and its future must now be in question.

“Unitec is outsourcing 300 staff and privatised core functions amid a controversial restructure.

“Aoraki has been effectively forced into a takeover by CPIT under threat of closure.

“There are nine more tertiary institutions on close watch, and two under investigation for potential fraud.

"Stephen Joyce dumped this news just after Parliament had risen because he did not want to face the tough questions.

"Kiwis - including affected students - deserve to know which the other nine institutions on medium alert are. The Government should tell us now,” says David Cunliffe.

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