Labour Throws $8 Million At TEC Restructure

new-zealand-national-party

Thu Jan 25 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Labour Throws $8 Million At TEC Restructure

Thursday, 25 January 2007, 9:32 am
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Dr Paul Hutchison MP
National Party Tertiary Education Spokesperson

25 January 2007

Plans for an $8 million restructure of the Tertiary Education Commission show the Government’s priorities on tertiary education lie in building bureaucracy, not quality learning institutions, says National’s Tertiary Education spokesman, Dr Paul Hutchison.

In the January issue of the Education Review, the Tertiary Education Commission admits a planned restructure this year could cost $8 million.

The restructure will include recruitment for new positions, relocation of staff, redundancies, lease buyouts as a result of 10 area office closures, and the fitout of a national service centre in South Auckland.

This follows revelations the TEC blew its operational budget by $700,000 last year, but underspent the billions it distributes to tertiary education providers by $165 million.

“While the TEC has been overspending in running its bureaucracy, including spending $1.8 million on consultants last year, it has been underspending in its role of distributing funding to the tertiary sector.
“Now the Government is going to throw a further $8 million at the TEC in an attempt to get its bureaucratic creation to work.

“It reeks of something you'd see on an episode of ‘Yes Minister’ as the commission has grown, expanded and bureaucratised.

“It just goes to show how ill-considered and poorly planned the creation of the TEC was in the first place.

“How can it be possible that within four years of being established, the TEC has now decided to shut 10 of its regional offices?

“When Tertiary Education Minister Michael Cullen talked about dealing with Labour's 'bums on seats policy', no one ever imagined he was planning to put more bums on more seats in office buildings in Wellington and Auckland.”

ENDS

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