Funding changes hitting polytechnics

Labour has criticised the Government over a drop in student funding at a couple of South Island polytechnics, which is expected to pressure them to restrict enrolments in some areas next year.

Labour's tertiary education spokesman Grant Robertson said Otago Polytechnic had recently said entry to some degree and diploma courses would be limited because of targeted funding cuts, while the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) was also losing funding.

The Southland Times reported SIT would lose more than $1 million in funding after 220 "low-priority" equivalent fulltime students were removed from the 2011 budget.

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) told SIT the students would be removed from the English for speakers of other languages training area.

Caps are also set to force Otago Polytechnic to look at restricting enrolments next year.

Mr Robertson said with some universities having announced similar measures earlier in the year, it seemed the Government was "systematically shutting down" educational opportunities for New Zealanders.

However, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said funding for student places to polytechnics had increased in the 2010 budget from $568m this year to $579m next year, meaning the number of core places at institutes of technology and polytechnics would be 455 greater, but funding for some specific courses would be cut.

Mr Joyce said a value for money exercise had identified a number of courses where performance and completion rates were low, and they would no longer be funded.

"Courses that are solely for regulatory compliance will also no longer be funded by the government -- this reflects our position that these should be funded by employers."

Low-value programmes had been removed to ensure there was extra funding for better quality core student places, Mr Joyce said.

He said the TEC had told him the current state of negotiations with SIT indicated small reductions in student funding as a response to addressing low performing provision, and that student places in Otago polytechnic were likely to increase moderately in support of quality provision added in 2010.

"I understand that negotiations are ongoing between the TEC and these institutions."

Mr Joyce has previously said the recession had resulted in more people choosing to study, an issue which had also put pressure on other tertiary providers to manage enrolments.