Southern Institute of Technology in limbo as it awaits Telford answer
Monday, 24 June 2019
The Southern Institute of Technology has halted international recruitment for its Telford campus as it awaits news of the proposed polytechnic merger.
Telford faced possible closure early this year when the agriculture training institute in Balclutha faced financial difficulties.
SIT agreed in February to take over Telford, although Education minister Chris Hipkins agreed to just a one year deal with SIT as the Government worked through a reform of vocational education and training.
Hipkins has proposed to centralise polytechnics in New Zealand and run them under one organisation.
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The Government paid $1.8 million to SIT to deliver primary industry training at Telford and through distance learning in 2019.
SIT has submitted an updated proposal to the Tertiary Education Commission to run Telford in 2020 and 2021, but there was yet to be any confirmation on of that will happen.
SIT chief executive Penny Simmonds said they were in limbo at the moment.
'The Minister has unfortunately not been able to give us advice in May on our involvement with Telford for 2020, as promised when he visited in March this year,' Simmonds says in her chief executive report presented at Monday's SIT council meeting.
When SIT took over running Telford it identified attracting international students as one way it could help it, although the uncertainty has meant SIT has held to hold off on that.
'We are unable to recruit for international students as a consequence, but are continuing domestic student marketing and recruiting, including a mid-2019 year intake, as if we will have responsibility.'
Hipkins wrote to SIT earlier this month in response to SIT's request to run Telford in 2020 and 2021 as well, although he did not provide an answer to the request.
'I absolutely appreciate the difficulties in trying to plan delivery and provide certainty for staff and students while operating under an arrangement which ends December 31, 2019,' he said.
He hoped to make an announcement about the Government's proposed Reform of Vocational Education by 'mid-July' which would then provide an answer on Telford's future beyond this year.
Simmonds said with a two year transition period being muted for the proposed polytechnic merger, she felt it would have been wise for Hipkins to agree to SIT's request to run Telford in 2020 and 2021 as well.
SIT council chairman Peter Heenan was disappointed Hipkins had not yet agreed to the two year extension.
'We believe that the continuation of Telford will be dependent on what we can put in place over the time that we are going to be involved.
'So I hope the money that has been spent thus far will not be wasted,' Heenan said at the SIT council meeting.