Latest news with #SandraGrey
Scoop
04-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Cuts Set Toi Ohomai Up To Fail
Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union is devastated by today's news of massive job losses proposed at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology. The institution is proposing to disestablish the jobs of 166.7 full time equivalent staff with a total net loss of over 60 jobs after new roles have been filled. The cuts will effect campuses in Rotorua, Tauranga and Whakatāne; and most disturbingly threaten the closure of the Tokoroa and Taupō campuses. The proposal identifies the 2023 change of government and the current Minister's requirement for ITPs to demonstrate ongoing viability if they want to become standalone entities as a key driver of the cuts. Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey describes the proposal as 'outrageous' and lays the blame squarely at the feet of the National-led government. 'Education is not a business. It operates, for the most part, on government funding. National, ACT and New Zealand First are trying to pull the wool over the public's eyes by refusing to adequately fund polytechs before forcing them to slash and burn their way to oblivion because they have been labelled 'unviable'. Toi Ohomai's TEU (Rotorua) branch Kaiarataki Takirua | Co-leaders Ashton Ledger and Santana Ammunson say 'these proposed changes pose a significant risk to our regional campuses – especially Taupō and Tokoroa - and undermine the government's stated intentions to shape a regionally-responsive and sustainable vocational education and training system.' 'It's also ironic to note that these proposed changes will slash support for international students – an area the government expects us to grow to make up the shortfall of their underfunding. We are being set up to fail.'
RNZ News
22-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Polytech job cuts: 'The mood has changed from anger to sadness'
About 300 jobs are under threat at eight polytechs, says the Tertiary Education Union. File photo. Photo: Supplied Job and course cuts across the polytechnic sector are a nightmare, the Tertiary Education Union says. The union estimates that about 300 jobs are under threat at eight of the 16 institutions, with restructuring plans expected shortly from two more. The proposed cuts ranged from performing arts courses in Wellington to agriculture courses in Northland. Tertiary Education Union national secretary Sandra Grey said the institutes were doing what the government had told them to do. "The directive from the government was really, really clear. It was cut, cut, cut until you're financially stable and there's a huge problem with that because when you cut staff numbers, you cut the number of courses, you cut the viability of the institutions. This is a nightmare," she said. Grey said the scale of change was unprecedented. "In any given week I can receive two or three change proposals. That's individual groups of staff being affected, individual courses that are being cut," she said. "In the worst case scenario its almost one-in-five staff and that is massive for those communities as well because not only is that cutting courses for learners but that's taking money out of the local economy." Whitiereia Polytechnic TEU branch president Helen Johnstone said she had never seen anything like it in her 20 years at the institute. "We have had time and time again cuts across that period of time and lots of changes but for me this is the most significant that I have experienced. The most significant in terms of the impact on our particular polytechnic and what services and courses will be available and left for students." Johnstone said staff seemed resigned to the changes. "The mood has actually changed from anger to sadness," she said. "We went along to a staff update meeting and the mood in the room was just silence. I think everybody's in shock... that this is actually happening." Polytechnic and Te Pūkenga managers refused RNZ's request for an interview as did Vocational Education minister Penny Simmonds. But former Otago Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker agreed the cuts were unprecedented. He said polytechnics had been struggling to make ends meet for years, but they had not all cut courses and staff at the same time. "This so-called viability issue has been around since I took up my chief executive job at Otago in 2004," he said. "There's been all sorts of work put in place at an institutional level to try and survive for the last 20 years plus. So there's always been some staffing reviews and job churn but what we're seeing now is a whole lot happening at the same time." Ker said the current round of cuts was aimed at creating financially-viable, stand-alone institutes but it would not work. "They're standing up on the basis of severe short-term cuts. There isn't a strong under-pinning financial model," he said. "These are all short-term fixes. It's looking for which programmes are the weak links right now, chop them out, shows a short-term benefit on the revenue statement and then a year down the track we'll see something else that's not 'viable' in inverted commas." Ker said the fundamental problem was everyone wanted a polytechnic system but nobody wanted to pay for it, least of all the government. "It's an inconvenient truth that we would like to have a really good vocational education system, but we don't want to pay for it. Employers don't want to pay directly for their training and the government doesn't want to pay adequately their share of the cost." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
NZ: Pacific and Māori student support cut
Photo: RNZ / Ziming Li Education advocates in Aotearoa New Zealand say a government decision to remove special funding for Pacific and Māori students in vocational training harks back to the days of a one-size-fits-all model. The funding cut applies to a per-student subsidy for Pacific and Māori enrolments at polytechnics and private training institutions. Currently, the subsidiary is used to help fund dedicated support services for these students. However, the Tertiary Education Commission - the government agency responsible for distributing - has stated that it is being re-prioritised. Tertiary Education Union national secretary Sandra Grey said the move was a huge step backwards. It also contradicted official advice to vocational education minister Penny Simmonds. A cabinet paper from January advised the government to keep the subsidy, which came out of a fund of about NZ$28 million. Specifically, officials recommended it be kept to help "achieve equitable outcomes" for three groups of learners - Māori and Pacific students, students with low achievement levels, and disabled students. While the funding allocation has remained for students with low achievement levels and disabled students, the money for Pacific and Māori has gone elsewhere. That decision from policy makers, Grey said, further hurt Pacific and Māori students who were already underserved in the New Zealand education system. "What we do know with dedicated funding is that we get positions like a Māori learning support expert who comes in and works with Māori students, or a Pacific staff member who comes in and supports Pacific students," she said. Tertiary Education Union president Dr Sandra Grey Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer These included initiatives and programmes like provided mentoring, guidance and peer support to Pacific and Māori. "We've seen from history is that when there is no dedicated fund, institutions deprioritise this work because there aren't dedicated funds. They do what they are funded to do," Grey said. "They've [the government] just said: 'It doesn't matter that you're Māori or Pacific. That has no bearing on your learning.' They are wrong. Everything says these students learn better when they have dedicated support from Māori and Pacific staff." The funding cut was indicative of the government's lack of understanding around why a "one-size-fits-all model in education" did not work, she said. At Manukau Institute of Technology in South Auckland, senior lecturer Alby Fitisemanu said the impact of programmes and support services specific to Pacific and Māori was not to be underestimated. Most of Fitisemanu's students were Pacific and Māori. The support services for these students helped ensure they moved beyond enrolment, he said. For example, programmes and support services contributed to student attainment and success, particularly because many Pacific and Māori often felt out-of-place in tertiary institutions, Fitisemanu said. "The problem we're having now is for the Pasifika [students] who are enrolled... very few complete along the journey. And so it's being able to bring in those supports all the way through their journey." Labour's tertiary education spokersperson Shanan Halbert said the funding cut was part of a bigger revamp to the sector where references to the needs of Māori and Pacific students were being removed from education legislation. Alongside that, references to Te Tiriti o Waitangi were also being deleted, he said. It was inconsistent with research on student needs in Aotearoa, Halbert said. "If you look at where Māori and Pacific learners sit in our education system, they have the greatest need, and so the the additional support is required to ensure that they're achieving what they need to. But also that they're that they're staying within the courses until they're completed." Minister Simmonds responded to questions from RNZ Pacific in a statement. National Party MP Penny Simmonds in select committee. Photo: Phil Smith She said the government was working towards "a more streamlined, outcomes-focused approach that supports all learners… through mechanisms that are targeted, evidence-based, and accountable". Simmonds also acknowledged the advice she'd received from education officials, but said the decision to remove the Māori and Pacific enrolment subsidiary had been a Cabinet decision. "The Cabinet collectively agreed that a broader reset of vocational education funding was needed to reduce complexity and ensure every dollar delivers results." When asked where the funding for Māori and Pacific was being directed, she said details were yet to be finalised.
Scoop
21-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Weltec And Whitireia Cuts A Shocking Blow For Their Communities
Press Release – Tertiary Education Union These short-sighted moves rob future generations of study options, our future workforce of skilled workers and our future communities and regional economies of people who can build our infrastructure, cook for and entertain us and our future tourists, … Staff at Weltec and Whitireia have been left reeling by a change proposal, announced today, that if confirmed will see nearly 60 positions disestablished. This number represents over one in five academic staff members. Programmes facing the axe include Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Fabrication, Light Automotive Engineering, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Writing, Publishing, Cookery, Baking and Hospitality. In addition there are 6 full time equivalent roles proposed to go in the libraries and Māori carving and weaving programmes are under threat. Also of great concern it the loss of programmes that provide Skills for Learning and Working for students with disabilities. Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey says 'this proposal is an enormous blow to the young people, the community and the people of the Wellington region. These short-sighted moves, carried out at the behest of Penny Simmonds and her government, rob future generations of study options, our future workforce of skilled workers and our future communities and regional economies of people who can build our infrastructure, cook for and entertain us and our future tourists, and tell our stories to the world. Helen Johnston, TEU Branch President at Whitireia says 'I feel for our community – Whitireia is the lifeblood of the region and it's our young people, our students, who are ultimately hurt the most at times like this. I worry about those who may miss out on the future they deserve and I worry for the quality of their education that will be delivered by the depleted stadd who will remain. Leo Pirini, Te Uepu Representitive at Weltec says 'I'm shocked. This is a big blow and my heart goes out to my colleagues who are impacted by this – they are all great people and talented educators. Some of them have been very long serving and loyal to their students and their institution. It's heartbreaking.'
Scoop
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Weltec And Whitireia Cuts A Shocking Blow For Their Communities
Staff at Weltec and Whitireia have been left reeling by a change proposal, announced today, that if confirmed will see nearly 60 positions disestablished. This number represents over one in five academic staff members. Programmes facing the axe include Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Fabrication, Light Automotive Engineering, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Writing, Publishing, Cookery, Baking and Hospitality. In addition there are 6 full time equivalent roles proposed to go in the libraries and Māori carving and weaving programmes are under threat. Also of great concern it the loss of programmes that provide Skills for Learning and Working for students with disabilities. Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey says 'this proposal is an enormous blow to the young people, the community and the people of the Wellington region. These short-sighted moves, carried out at the behest of Penny Simmonds and her government, rob future generations of study options, our future workforce of skilled workers and our future communities and regional economies of people who can build our infrastructure, cook for and entertain us and our future tourists, and tell our stories to the world. Helen Johnston, TEU Branch President at Whitireia says 'I feel for our community – Whitireia is the lifeblood of the region and it's our young people, our students, who are ultimately hurt the most at times like this. I worry about those who may miss out on the future they deserve and I worry for the quality of their education that will be delivered by the depleted stadd who will remain. Leo Pirini, Te Uepu Representitive at Weltec says 'I'm shocked. This is a big blow and my heart goes out to my colleagues who are impacted by this – they are all great people and talented educators. Some of them have been very long serving and loyal to their students and their institution. It's heartbreaking.'
