Manukau Institute of Technology appoints wrong councillor

Media release
27 March 2015
Tertiary Education Union - Te Hautū Kahurangi o Aotearoa

Manukau Institute of Technology appoints wrong councillor

Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) should not be appointing a council member who works for a competing private provider, says TEU national president Sandra Grey.

MIT announced yesterday that it has appointed Jill Tattersall as a councillor. Tattersall currently serves as a director on for Cornerstone Education, a private education provider based in Auckland that offers courses that compete with MIT’s business qualifications.

Grey says this appears to be a conflict of interest.

“Tattersall clearly brings to MIT skilled and valuable governance experience, but she also appears to have a conflict of interest. She already works for a company that is in competition with MIT.”

Grey says MIT needs a councillor who is not only committed to it retaining and growing student numbers in its school of business, but is also able to be an articulate and uncompromised voice for public education.

“There is a role for business leaders on tertiary education councils but not where they are in competition with those public providers. There is an equally important need for people who can speak up for the special role polytechnics like Manukau Institute of Technology play in our public education system. Ms Tattersall will find it hard to speak up for public education when she has a financial interest in a company that is competing directly for the same students and MIT.”

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