The Government is taking tertiary education down a worrying path with new reporting finding that fourteen of the country’s sixteen polytechnics couldn’t survive on their own,” Labour’s tertiary education spokesperson Dr Deborah Russell says.

“Penny Simmonds has been forced to acknowledged that nationally only two polytechs are likely to be able to stand alone - meaning she will be forced to sacrifice fourteen polytechs to prop up her favourite institution that she worked for.

“The Minister’s own officials advised her that retaining Te Pūkenga is the best educational approach and the most cost-effective thing to do. Now her wrong decisions are setting up polytechs to fail.

“The Minister is choosing to pursue her own pre-determined plans without listening to expert advice. In regional areas, students will be pushed into blended and online learning, changing the hands-on nature of vocational and trades training. We need to grow our constructions and trades workforce, not put extra barriers in the way of students.

"The Government has already said that it will cut the workforce develop councils which matched skill needed in our regions with training. It's sad that politics is getting in the way of making the right decision.

“These decisions will leave access to tertiary education in rural and regional New Zealand behind. Penny Simmonds needs to put aside her personal ideals and realise that retaining Te Pūkenga is the best way forward,” Dr Deborah Russell said.

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