Latest news with #TePūkenga
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Vocational Education Penny Simmonds says staff to student ratios at polytechnics abysmal
Vocational education minister Penny Simmonds. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds says the staff to student ratios have been abysmal. Appearing before the Education and Workforce Select Committee to answer questions about the government's Budget decisions for Tertiary Education, Simmonds said institutions' ratio of staff to students was critical for their viability. She said polytechnics had reduced their staff numbers by 8.2 percent on a headcount basis and about 4.9 percent on a full-time equivalent basis but their staff to student ratios were still lower than they were in 2016-17. "Those ratios are critical to the viability of an institution. If you're running at a ratio of less than one to 18 for academic staff to students, you are in financial trouble and they are low," she said. Simmonds said a number of polytechnics were "incredibly damaged by the last four or five years under Te Pūkenga". She said they had lost domestic enrolments, failed to rebuild international enrolments quickly, and had not responded quickly to changes. Simmonds said Te Pūkenga should have addressed staff surpluses at loss-making polytechnics more quickly. She said it had not become financially sustainable, even though it recorded a financial surplus last year. Simmonds and Universities Minister Shane Reti insisted government funding for tertiary education was increasing as a result of the Budget. Committee member and Labour Party MP Shanan Halbert said Budget figures showed total tertiary funding would drop $124m in the 2025/26 financial year to $3.79b. Tertiary Education Commission officials said the drop was due to the end of the previous government's temporary, two-year funding boost and moving the fees free policy to the final year of students' study. Simmonds said the government ended equity funding for Māori and Pacific students because it wanted to target extra funding to needs not ethnicity. She said if a Māori student who was dux of their school enrolled in a polytechnic qualification, their enrolment would attract the equity weighting, even though they had no need of additional support, which she said did not make sense. Tertiary Education Commission chief executive Tim Fowler told the committee enrolments had grown so much that institutions were asking for permission to enrol more students this year than they had agreed with the commission in the investment plans that determined their funding. "We've had most of the universities come to us and ask to exceed their investment plan allocation... over 105 percent this year. In previous years, I think we might have had one in the past decade, so unprecedented levels of enrolments," he said. Fowler said it was the commission's job to balance that growth, favouring government priorities such as STEM subject enrolments and removing funding from under-enrolled courses. "We're continually adjusting in-flight what that investment looks like and where we see areas where there is demand that we want to support we try and move money to it. Where there's areas of under-delivery, we try and take that out as quickly as we possibly can so it doesn't fly back to the centre - we want to reinvest it elsewhere," he said. "The challenge for us this year, there are far fewer areas of under-delivery than there is over-delivery." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Staff numbers at polytechnics abysmal: minister
By John Gerritsen of RNZ Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds says staff numbers at some polytechnics are so high they are abysmal. Appearing before the Education and Workforce Select Committee to answer questions about the government's Budget decisions for Tertiary Education, Simmonds said institutions' ratio of staff to students was critical for their viability. Claim govt setting up polytechs to fail She said polytechnics had reduced their staff numbers by 8.2% on a headcount basis and about 4.9% on a full-time equivalent basis but their staff to student ratios were still lower than they were in 2016-17. "Those ratios are critical to the viability of an institution. If you're running at a ratio of less than one to 18 for academic staff to students, you are in financial trouble and they are low," she said. Simmonds said a number of polytechnics were "incredibly damaged by the last four or five years under Te Pūkenga". She said they had lost domestic enrolments, failed to rebuild international enrolments quickly, and had not responded quickly to changes. Simmonds said Te Pūkenga should have addressed staff surpluses at loss-making polytechnics more quickly. She said it had not become financially sustainable, even though it recorded a financial surplus last year. Simmonds and Universities Minister Shane Reti insisted government funding for tertiary education was increasing as a result of the Budget. Committee member and Labour Party MP Shanan Halbert said Budget figures showed total tertiary funding would drop $124m in the 2025/26 financial year to $3.79b. Tertiary Education Commission officials said the drop was due to the end of the previous government's temporary, two-year funding boost and moving the fees free policy to the final year of students' study. Simmonds said the government ended equity funding for Māori and Pacific students because it wanted to target extra funding to needs not ethnicity. She said if a Māori student who was dux of their school enrolled in a polytechnic qualification, their enrolment would attract the equity weighting, even though they had no need of additional support, which she said did not make sense. Tertiary Education Commission chief executive Tim Fowler told the committee enrolments had grown so much that institutions were asking for permission to enrol more students this year than they had agreed with the commission in the investment plans that determined their funding. "We've had most of the universities come to us and ask to exceed their investment plan allocation... over 105% this year. In previous years, I think we might have had one in the past decade, so unprecedented levels of enrolments," he said. Fowler said it was the commission's job to balance that growth, favouring government priorities such as STEM subject enrolments and removing funding from under-enrolled courses. "We're continually adjusting in-flight what that investment looks like and where we see areas where there is demand that we want to support we try and move money to it. Where there's areas of under-delivery, we try and take that out as quickly as we possibly can so it doesn't fly back to the centre - we want to reinvest it elsewhere," he said. "The challenge for us this year, there are far fewer areas of under-delivery than there is over-delivery."
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds says staff numbers at polytechnics abysmal
Vocational education minister Penny Simmonds. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds says staff numbers at some polytechnics are so high they are abysmal. Appearing before the Education and Workforce Select Committee to answer questions about the government's Budget decisions for Tertiary Education, Simmonds said institutions' ratio of staff to students was critical for their viability. She said polytechnics had reduced their staff numbers by 8.2 percent on a headcount basis and about 4.9 percent on a full-time equivalent basis but their staff to student ratios were still lower than they were in 2016-17. "Those ratios are critical to the viability of an institution. If you're running at a ratio of less than one to 18 for academic staff to students, you are in financial trouble and they are low," she said. Simmonds said a number of polytechnics were "incredibly damaged by the last four or five years under Te Pūkenga". She said they had lost domestic enrolments, failed to rebuild international enrolments quickly, and had not responded quickly to changes. Simmonds said Te Pūkenga should have addressed staff surpluses at loss-making polytechnics more quickly. She said it had not become financially sustainable, even though it recorded a financial surplus last year. Simmonds and Universities Minister Shane Reti insisted government funding for tertiary education was increasing as a result of the Budget. Committee member and Labour Party MP Shanan Halbert said Budget figures showed total tertiary funding would drop $124m in the 2025/26 financial year to $3.79b. Tertiary Education Commission officials said the drop was due to the end of the previous government's temporary, two-year funding boost and moving the fees free policy to the final year of students' study. Simmonds said the government ended equity funding for Māori and Pacific students because it wanted to target extra funding to needs not ethnicity. She said if a Māori student who was dux of their school enrolled in a polytechnic qualification, their enrolment would attract the equity weighting, even though they had no need of additional support, which she said did not make sense. Tertiary Education Commission chief executive Tim Fowler told the committee enrolments had grown so much that institutions were asking for permission to enrol more students this year than they had agreed with the commission in the investment plans that determined their funding. "We've had most of the universities come to us and ask to exceed their investment plan allocation... over 105 percent this year. In previous years, I think we might have had one in the past decade, so unprecedented levels of enrolments," he said. Fowler said it was the commission's job to balance that growth, favouring government priorities such as STEM subject enrolments and removing funding from under-enrolled courses. "We're continually adjusting in-flight what that investment looks like and where we see areas where there is demand that we want to support we try and move money to it. Where there's areas of under-delivery, we try and take that out as quickly as we possibly can so it doesn't fly back to the centre - we want to reinvest it elsewhere," he said. "The challenge for us this year, there are far fewer areas of under-delivery than there is over-delivery." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Claim govt setting up polytechs to fail
The government has been accused of setting up polytechnics to fail after the revelation that almost one in 10 jobs have been cut in the past year. Papers released under the Official Information Act showed staff figures at Te Pukenga dropped from 10,480 in 2023 to 9625 in 2024, a cut of about 8%. While the data did not break down into individual units, the information comes as Otago Polytechnic looks to slim down, announcing changes to the Capable NZ programme last week, and cutting nine courses before last Christmas. Te Pukenga was formed in 2020 by bringing together the country's 16 institutes of technology and polytechnics (ITPs). Green MP Francisco Hernandez said the staff cuts had been demoralising. "The damage of the government's destructive reforms to Te Pūkenga and their underfunding of our tertiary sector are being felt right across the country, with nearly one in 10 jobs being lost at Te Pūkenga. "These cuts will not just hurt staff and students but also the regional communities that depend on Te Pūkenga to deliver skills, jobs and training to our regions." He said communities were already feeling the impacts. Recent reports of cuts to Capable NZ were on top of cuts already made to courses such as the horticulture, health and English language programmes. "Instead of forcing critical polytechs to cut staff and programmes to stay afloat under the government's new model, the government needs to recognise the valuable work that polytechs and universities do and give them the resourcing and support they need to succeed." The government introduced legislation breaking up Te Pukenga last month, but it is not yet known which polytechnics would stand alone and which would be absorbed into the federation model. Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds said the government asked the Tertiary Education Commission to work with Te Pūkenga to support polytechnics in reviewing their operations — an exercise that "really should have taken place when Te Pūkenga was established", she said. "While the operational decisions are made by the institutions themselves, I believe it's appropriate that each polytechnic is taking the steps needed to ensure their long-term viability. "These decisions are never easy, but they are necessary to build a more stable and sustainable vocational education system." Asked about the potential loss of institutional memory at the polytechnics, Ms Simmonds conceded it could be an issue. "We need to ensure that as we transition into a new system, we retain the best of what our institutions and people have built over time. "That's why we are taking a measured approach to reform — ensuring there is continuity, while also creating a system that is better aligned with the needs of learners, employers, and regional economies." Tertiary Education Union assistant general secretary Daniel Benson-Guiu said the "real concern" was that nothing had been formally established to replace Te Pukenga. Several "strategic" courses had already faced cuts, he said. "We would like to see a vocational education system that can cater for all of the communities. "With these cuts, the government is setting itself up to fail." Ms Simmonds said the reforms to the system would make it more efficient. "It will be up to each polytechnic to manage its workforce in a way that reflects its financial situation, enrolment patterns, and local training needs. "Under the new system, I expect institutions to be more accountable and better equipped to make prudent, forward-looking staffing and operational choices."
RNZ News
04-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Te Pūkenga disestablishment 'will not be completely equitable'
A 'federation' of polytechs may be needed after the dissolution of Te Pūkenga. File photo. Photo: supplied Polytechnics are unlikely to emerge from Te Pūkenga with the savings or debt they took into the mega-institute. Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds today told the Education and Workforce Select Committee the government was working on how to re-establish polytechnics that were subsumed by Te Pūkenga at the end of 2022. "There are some that went in with very high debts, some that went in with very high reserves. The disestablishment will not be completely equitable and that, unfortunately, needs to occur because we cannot stand up new entities that are going to be insolvent," she told the committee. Simmonds confirmed that polytechnics that were "not very solvent" would be more likely to be merged with another institute or placed into a federation of polytechnics. "There are still decisions to be made around that, but where there are some that there isn't a pathway, then obviously mergers are an option, but also support by being able to go into the federation," she said. Simmonds said a federation model was suggested when the previous government was considering submissions that led to the creation of Te Pūkenga and it had been wrong to ignore those submissions. "I think where Te Pūkenga went wrong was that classic mistake of form before function, and if the functions that would benefit from being centralised had been looked at, Te Pūkenga probably wouldn't have been the form that eventuated and a federation model might have been," she said. Simmonds told the committee Te Pūkenga's financial situation had improved, but only because it had shed many of the centralised functions it was set up to provide. She said the $20 million the government had set aside to ensure the continuation of strategically important vocational education might not be enough. She said it could be used to protect courses in areas with high levels of youth unemployment, and courses related to significant industries such as agriculture. The committee was hearing submissions and evidence on the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill which would disestablish Te Pūkenga at the end of 2026. The bill would also allow the re-establishment of individual polytechnics and the creation of a federation of polytechnics led by an "anchor" institute. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
