Polytechnic takeover a backwards step

new-zealand-labour-party

Fri Aug 21 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Polytechnic takeover a backwards step

Friday, 21 August 2009, 3:22 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

21 August 2009
Media Statement

The Government’s plan to seize much greater control of polytechnic governing councils is a short-sighted and backwards step, says Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson Maryan Street.

Education Minister Anne Tolley yesterday introduced a bill which will reduce polytechnic councils to eight members, down from up to 20.

“The bill will result in the Government being able to appoint four of the eight representatives, up from three to four now. The other four will include the Chief Executive, one student representative, one member nominated by the Academic Board and one member appointed by the Council,” Maryan Street said.

“This will enable the Government to take a much more dominant role and disappointingly will remove existing provisions for almost all community representatives to sit on the councils.

“We need those voices on the councils to ensure polytechnics are connected to the communities they serve. Mrs Tolley's actions contradict her stated intentions in this legislation.

“Of particular concern is the removal of union and employer representatives from the councils. Representatives of these groups know what skills and training are required to ensure New Zealand emerges from the recession able to hit the ground running,” Maryan Street said.

“This is a major and backwards shift, taking power away from the community and from representatives of groups who know what skills and training gaps need to be plugged to create a more productive economy, and giving the Government much greater ability to tell them what to do.

“Anne Tolley also needs to explain why only polytechnics have been targeted and not universities and wänanga. Is there any rationale behind this or is it just another knee-jerk cost-cutting measure which the Government will live to regret?”

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.