Mixed messages.
July 8, 2025
Hau Taki Haere | Tertiary Update Vol 29, No 13
A video of Penny Simmonds, Minister of Vocational Education, speaking at Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union’s online National General Meeting on Wednesday 25 June is now available to watch. It contains some interesting comments that shed a sliver of light on what's going on in the polytechnic sector as institutions continue to haemorrhage staff.
Since a fortnight ago when RNZ reported TEU’s estimate that about 300 jobs were on the line as a result of the Minister’s requirement for ITPs to demonstrate ongoing viability if they want to become standalone entities, that number has ballooned out to over 400.
In the question-and-answer session that followed her formal presentation, the Minister confirmed that Open Polytechnic will be the institution that anchors the federation that will be made up of those that aren’t considered ‘viable’, in order to offer online delivery and blended learning in smaller communities.
Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey says, “this is the clearest signal yet that communities like Kaitaia, Tokoroa, Greymouth, and Timaru are likely to lose their campuses and that students will be forced to either learn online in economically deprived areas where internet coverage is not always great, or go without.”
Ian Allan, a TEU member from Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) told the Minister that EIT staff were advised by management “we could not grow our way out of this problem, not to rely on international enrolments because that can be volatile and not to grow domestic enrolments because of the funding model.”
The Minister responded, “they are interesting messages because I would probably just about give you the opposite.”
Sandra Grey says “this is an unmitigated mess. It’s July, and there’s still no clear plan despite the standalone institutions and federated polytechnics due to go live on the first of January and our members are still getting very mixed messages. If their managers don’t know what they are supposed to be doing, then how can anyone else?”
“The Minister says that vocational education is vitally important for the country, yet decisions aren’t being made on that basis – it’s all about cost cutting.”
Despite our differences, the Minister finished by saying “I feel like over a 23 year period that I had a very good relationship with TEU, I always valued the input from TEU, it doesn’t mean we always agreed on everything but I absolutely valued what you brought to the table so thank you and I hope that good relationship will continue.”
Also in this update:
National Elections: Nominations open
People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity
TEU Climate Pulse Survey: How Climate Change is Affecting our Members
Other stories
Cuts set Toi Ohomai up to fail – TEU
‘Tell us how we can survive’: Polytechs on the brink – The Post
West Coast leaders make last-minute push to save region’s Polytech – The Press
Free speech concern in universities is a manufactured crisis – The Post