Latest news with #polytechnic
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Tertiary Education Union says sector's become a political football, slams Te Pūkenga disestablishment
Otago Polytechnic will be absorbed into the Open Polytechnic, a move the former is "deeply disappointed" by. Photo: Google Street View The Tertiary Education Union is calling the government's disestablishment of Te Pūkenga a "disaster for regional New Zealand". Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds joined Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday to announce 10 polytechnics were being re-established. The Southern Institute of Technology she was chief executive of for 23 years was one of them - as was Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, after Nelson mayor Nick Smith appealed for the government to keep it independent . He was delighted, saying the govenrment's announcement is "the best news for Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough". "We are one of New Zealand's most geographically isolated regions, meaning that for many students who cannot relocate for financial or family reasons, NMIT is the only opportunity for them to upskill and gain a tertiary education," he said in a written statement. "There is now a big job ahead to rebuild NMIT. We look forward to the passage of the legislation and the appointment of a new polytechnic council. Key steps will be re-establishing links with local industry and redeveloping NMIT's international brand and market." Others were not so lucky. The Open Polytechnic will absorb Otago Polytechnic and UCOL, becoming a "federation" that offers online resources, an academic board and other services to those polytechs struggling with money. Otago Polytechnic executive director Megan Pōtiki said it was "deeply disappointed" to be included in the federation model. "Otago Polytechnic currently boasts one of the highest learner completion rates in the polytechnic sector, and we are concerned that the federation model would dilute this offering and impact our organisation's proud reputation and future success. The federation model risks undermining our learner success rates and the quality of teaching ... and ultimately risks undermining our independence and future viability as a regional institution." Minister Simmonds said polytechs in four other regions - Northland, Taranaki, Wellington, and the West Coast - were facing "unique challenges" and needed to show a path to financial viability within a year - or face being merged, or closed. Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Tertiary Education Union national secretary Sandra Grey told RNZ the sector had been suffering for 20 years and had become a political football. She said the minister's announcement was just a return to a model that was failing. "This government has just exacerbated it ... leaving four out in the cold and saying 'you'll just have to do something radically different, like just do online learning then you'll be financially viable' - that's a pretty cruel thing to do to communities. "That doesn't work so well when what you're teaching is cookery, or carpentry. They're not easy to teach online." She said most of the four facing an uncertain future were in rural areas which did not have universities and depended on polytechnics to become a hub of learning and industry. The government's plan, she said, would only deepen the divide between rural and urban learning. The former Industry Training Organisations would be replaced with Industry Skills Boards, which would set standards for industry training, develop qualifications, and endorse the programmes that would lead to them. The minister said they would be supported with Quality Assurance to ensure consistency - saying industries would now have a bigger say. Grey, however, said the plan was problematic because it would require students to go to a temporary holding place for two years - and the government had halved the funding for it. "This government keeps claiming it's giving communities and industry a big say in their future and yet it's making all the decisions for them, taking away all the money from them. "They're not thinking about whether it's genuinely going to serve industry or genuinely serve community, I think they've been warned this is not going to work for anyone, they're just going to go ahead because they made a promise. They could renege on that promise, we'd be quite happy if they turned around. "What we've got to appreciate is these polytechnics are built up over five decades, two generations have put energy, time, taxpayer money into building their polytechnics. These belong to New Zealanders, these polytechnics - and this government is just running roughshod over communities and taking decisions for them and making it impossible to have good training in small communities. "The long-term cost of people missing out on education is poorer health outcomes for people - so more money spent on the health system - poor outcomes socially because people don't get jobs, and lost tax revenue because when people don't train they don't get jobs and they don't contribute to the tax take. "We all lose out when communities lose out and when students don't have courses, this is a disaster if we don't turn it around." Labour's leader Chris Hipkins was the education minister who launched Te Pūkenga, and acknowledged the merger faced difficulties but said the government was turning the system upside down. "Te Pūkenga took too long to get off the ground in my view, but they turned a surplus last year. I think to turn the whole system upside down all over again right at a time when we need to be increasing the number of people we're training is a bit crazy." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Watch live: Christopher Luxon on the the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga
In his post-Cabinet press stand-up Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is expected to update on the latest on the disestablishment of the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, Te Pūkenga. He is also set to announce the date of the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election, following the sudden death of Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Te Pūkenga, the mega-institute that combined polytechnic and workplace training and education, is due to be disestablished by 31 December 2026, and be replace with 10 stand-alone polytechnics and a new system for work-based industry training. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Polytech bail-outs lie ahead, Te Pūkenga warns
Nelson's mayor says the creation of Te Pūkenga has been bad for local polytechnic Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT). Photo: Supplied / NMIT Te Pūkenga's managers have warned MPs the government will have to bail out struggling polytechnics despite its reforms. Meanwhile, Nelson's mayor Nick Smith appealed to the government to save the region's polytechnic from inclusion in a federation of weak institutions. Appearing before the Education and Workforce Select Committee the mega-institute's chief financial officer James Smith said the changes, which included disestablishing Te Pūkenga , would leave in place a volume-based funding system. He said that would lead to the institutes making the same poor investment decisions that prompted the creation of Te Pūkenga as a means of ensuring their long-term viability. "The system remains a simplistic, inefficient volumetric system with no ability to adjust price based on scale. We expect that these issues will persist under the structural changes enabled under the bill. We also expect because of this that the government will be relied upon for further ad hoc financial support for ITPs (Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics) in the future," he said. Smith said "unhealthy race to the bottom behaviour" was likely to re-emerge and polytechnics needed stronger incentives to collaborate with one another. He said the government's Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill also watered down institutions' obligations to underserved learners such as Māori and Pacific communities. "This tempering of obligations, along with reductions in targeted funding for these learner groups from 2026 will maintain or worsen the current education disparities that exist in the tertiary education system," he said. Drew Mayhem from the Tertiary Education Union also cast doubt on the long-term viability of the government's plan. "Splitting out the work-based learning component and putting it in direct competition with the polytechnics that you're trying to stand alone, that's not sustainable," he said. Nelson mayor Nick Smith told the committee the creation of Te Pūkenga had been bad for the region's local polytechnic, the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT). Nelson mayor Nick Smith. Photo: Supplied / Nick Smith He said his greatest fear was that NMIT would be among the former polytechnics placed into a federation rather than being allowed to stand-alone after Te Pūkenga was disestablished. Smith said he had heard that NMIT was "on the margins" of inclusion in the federation and wanted government to consult with mayors and iwi before making that decision. He said he was not expecting NMIT would emerge with all of the $20 million in cash reserves that it took into Te Pūkenga , but understood about $9m remained. Smith said that money should be transferred to the re-established institution. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Independent Singapore
30-06-2025
- General
- Independent Singapore
20 y/o woman says her mum forced her to start working right after polytechnic
SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old woman shared on Reddit that her mum forced her to start working right after polytechnic. In her post on the r/SGExams forum, she shared that her mum believed further education wasn't necessary for girls and insisted she skip university to jump straight into a full-time job. Although she admitted she was never particularly passionate about studying, the fact that she had no say in the matter made work feel more like a punishment than a personal choice. She also shared that her mother had always been very strict. She wasn't allowed to join any co-curricular activities, attend workshops, or hang out with friends outside of school. It was only after starting her first job that she finally experienced a sense of independence. Now, several months into her job, she is feeling conflicted. While her workplace has been supportive and the workload is manageable, she cannot stop thinking about the opportunity she missed to experience university life. See also Hong Kong college campus searched, just one protester found Seeking advice, she asked the community, 'Is it normal for a 20-year-old to keep whining about being deprived of uni and being the youngest at work, or am I just ……? Should I stay in my job and not go to Uni, stay in job and go to part-time uni, or just quit to go to full-time uni? Will I get fired if I cut myself at work because i got the habit of cutting and I don't think I'm allowed to bring a penknife to work.' 'You need to convince them that going to university will be good for your future.' Her post received a wave of supportive responses from the community. Many encouraged her to prioritise her mental health and reminded her that there is still time to pursue university or any other goal she sets her mind to. One Redditor said, 'Hey…sorry to hear about it. If I were in your situation, I would actually crash out. Maybe start saving up money from your full-time job for a few years before going full-time uni. It's never too late to enter uni.' They also advised her to take her time and not rush any decision, adding, 'The choice is up to you. Take your time to process this, and when you're ready, I believe you'll find a new way forward.' Another commented, 'Have you tried applying for Uni with your grades? If your grades are amazing and you can get a place in the course you like AND you have the ability to pay for the university course, then you can seriously consider going to University. If you need parents to pay for your University fee, you need to convince them that going to University will be good for your future.' Meanwhile, a third Redditor expressed concern about her well-being, writing, 'Your feelings are valid, but your coping mechanism is wrong… you might end up jobless in addition to not attending uni.' Where to get help If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm or mental health issues, help is available. You can call the Samaritans of Singapore at 1767 or visit for support. If the situation is urgent or involves immediate danger, you can call the emergency medical services at 995 or head to the nearest Accident & Emergency (A&E) department. Read also: Man who has been unemployed twice in the past 3 years says applying for jobs again terrifies him Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Independent Singapore
25-06-2025
- General
- Independent Singapore
Poly grad disheartened after being rejected by every university he applied to, now considers taking a gap year
SINGAPORE: A polytechnic graduate recently shared on social media that he has been rejected by every university he applied to, including private institutions. Posting on the r/SGexams forum on Tuesday (Jun 24), the young man admitted he never imagined himself in this situation. 'I've been rejected from every single university you can imagine (yes, even private universities..) and I've never been more lost and stressed,' he wrote. He also explained that taking a gap year was never something he had considered. However, with no offers in hand, it now feels like the only option available. 'I'm having a very hard time coping with this setback and I cannot really think straight,' he said. 'If anyone out there has any advice on how to maximise my gap year and if there's anything I should know about reapplying for university next year (I'm okay with hearing the hard truth), do let me know.' 'I think it's helpful to start by evaluating why you might have been rejected.' In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Reddit user suggested, 'If you went to poly, I would heavily consider working straight away if I were you. Try to get a job in some field you like and reapply to uni again in 2 years if you still wanna go uni then.' Another commented, 'Hey, first of all, huge congrats on surviving and graduating from poly! That's already a big milestone, so give yourself some credit for that. As for the rejections, don't be too hard on yourself. They added, 'I think it's helpful to start by evaluating why you might have been rejected. Was it due to GPA, portfolio strength, or missing prerequisites? Once you figure that out, you'll have a clearer sense of what to work on.' A third user advised, 'I think it's best to take a few steps back. You don't have to die die get into university. Instead, take this gap year to explore your interests. I don't know what course you are aiming for.' 'You can take up a contract job to gain valuable experience and skills during your gap year. I worked odd jobs until I got a job at a hospital so I could apply for a life science degree. Fyi, I have a diploma in engineering, it's not relevant to the degree I am taking.' See also NUS falls to third place in Asian University Rankings In other news, a woman renting a dual-key studio apartment turned to Reddit to express her frustrations about a 'weird and demanding' neighbour who, she says, has repeatedly overstepped boundaries and disrupted her peace at home. Writing on r/askSingapore, she said the trouble started on the very day her neighbour, a middle-aged Chinese woman with a chihuahua, moved into the adjoining unit. According to her, the neighbour left so many boxes and bags in their shared foyer on move-in day that she couldn't even open her front door. Read more: 'How do I make her stop?' — Woman says her neighbour is 'weird and demanding,' but she struggles to say no to their demands Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
