Government suffocating polytechnics

The Government is squandering another opportunity to boost economic productivity and get young adults off the street by refusing to fully fund tertiary education institutions.

Twenty per cent of those in the 15 to 19 age bracket were not employed or being trained, and cost the economy $1b a year, Dr Stuart Middleton reported at the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics Conference.

“It costs approximately $7,000 per year for each full time equivalent student at a polytech. That billion dollar cost to the economy today could easily be transformed into over 10,000 skilled graduates per year, boosting New Zealand’s productivity, but the Government lacks the vision,” Green Party Co-Leader Metiria Turei said today.

English’s comment at the conference that “It's past the time Government can offer continuous support to reinforce failure. You fix it, or we will find someone else who will make the decision that needs to be made,” indicates a willingness to cull existing tertiary institutions and replace them with private institutions, Mrs Turei said.

“At a time when enrolment is blossoming and taking young people off the streets, the Government is signalling their intention to pull the rug from under our technical schools.

“The real failure is that of the Government, for not seizing the opportunity to educate our kids for a brighter future. English would rather pay them the dole.

“Another concern is what this says about National’s plans for tertiary education in the future. If funding is cut off and threats are made in times of real need, one can only presume that National’s stance will become more hard-line as things improve,” Mrs Turei said.