Anger over polytechnic roll cap

Young people unable to find a job and unable to get into Otago Polytechnic because of a roll cap next year "will be on the street", an angry Otago Polytechnic council member said yesterday.

Otago Polytechnic will not get all the government-funded student places it had hoped for next year and will introduce a more stringent selection process for first-year students to ensure funded places go to those who are serious about study and who have a strong chance of succeeding.

Chief executive Phil Ker said this week students with strong academic qualifications enrolling in degree and diploma courses would be accepted first and those with poorer educational records or enrolling in lower-level programmes might miss out.

Rebecca Parata, a former student leader and the Maori representative on the council, said the policy would disadvantage the most vulnerable young people at a time when it was difficult for them to find work.

She had obtained figures which showed 2195 Dunedin people aged between 18 and 24 were receiving a benefit, 8% more than the same time last year.

"As a country, we should be using the current economic environment to ensure we upskill young people, not shut them out of further education ... If we don't get them into work or training they will be on the streets."

The policy could also affect mature students, who made up about 40% of Otago Polytechnic's roll, she said.

Some of them were Maori seeking a second chance at education.

Ms Parata said she understood the polytechnic had been forced into the tougher enrolment regime, but it was "a very sad day" for students.

Several council members said local employers could be affected by the roll cap.

The long-term effects could be "very negative", deputy chairwoman Susie Johnstone said, especially in fields such as midwifery in which it took years to produce work-ready graduates.

Dr Peter Coolbear said the policy countered the reason polytechnics existed - "as engines of regional and economic development".

The policy had been produced with the polytechnic in mind, not society, Dr Malcolm Macpherson said.

"There will be benefits for the polytechnic because educational standards will rise. But it will be bad for society because people who want education and training will miss out."

Ms Parata asked the council to write a letter to Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce, calling on the Government to fund more places so the enrolment changes did not need to be introduced.

After discussion, it was decided staff would gather data on the likely implications of the enrolment changes, gather feedback from employers and draft a letter for discussion at next month's council meeting.

- allison.rudd@odt.co.nz