Tertiary education providers outside Christchurch should not be advertising in Christchurch to encourage students away from Canterbury according to TEU national president Sandra Grey.

Dr Grey told The Press that tertiary instituions need to rethink their marketing strategies under such “extraordinary circumstances”.

“It’s about showing respect for Christchurch and trying to give it the best chance, especially with Canterbury University losing international students along with budget cuts.”

Dr Grey said if other institutions outside the region advertise heavily in Canterbury, Christchurch institutions will have to respond in kind with advertising.

“At the moment, with so much else they have to be doing, we would rather not see money going into big advertising budgets and not core services.”

University of Canterbury deputy vice-chancellor Ian Town told The Press the university had increased its marketing spending.

Dr Grey said that money spent on advertising is money that can no longer be spent on keeping staff whose jobs are under threat from budget cuts.