The government’s financial watchdog raised serious concerns about Penny Simmonds’ reform of polytechnics, the Otago Daily Times can reveal.
Papers released under the Official Information Act showed that in March, Treasury had many criticisms about the handling of the breakup of mega-polytechnic Te Pukenga.
Among the risks were the potential financial and educational cost of the reforms, the lack of monetary support for the reconstituted polytechnics, the untested "federation model" and the lack of communication between Vocational Education Minister Simmonds and various stakeholders.
In the break up of Te Pukenga last month, Otago Polytechnic was named as one of the 10 regional polytechs (ITPs) to be returned to regional control, but it will be part of a "federation model" alongside the Open Polytechnic and Universal College of Learning (Ucol).
Treasury cast doubt over the model’s financial stability.
"Particularly given the narrow focus on ITP viability, we think [Ms Simmonds] could more clearly articulate the package of changes being made to support ITPs’ financial viability, and their cumulative impacts.
"This is because the proposed future state for ITPs appears to be similar, if not worse, than the situation faced by ITPs pre-Te Pūkenga."
The scale of changes, the short timelines for implementation and the complexity of changes "with limited implementation resource" all increased the risk for successfully completing the reform, Treasury said.
Green MP Francisco Hernandez said the report reinforced what he had been saying about the whole process.
"This is a risky reform which has been jeopardised by the minister’s haphazard decision-making processes, short timeframes for implementation, and the lack of support for polytechs to undergo the transition.
"It is damning that, despite such a difficult and disruptive transition, Treasury advises the future for polytechnics ‘appears to be similar, if not worse’ than what they were before Te Pūkenga."
Otago Polytechnic executive director Dr Megan Potiki was unsurprised.
"We note the concerns raised about the scale and short timelines for implementing the changes — establishing 10 ITPs on January 1, 2026 — and the complexity of the changes.
"This underscores some of the reasons Otago Polytechnic has requested a meeting [with Ms Simmonds], to explain her recent decisions in more detail and to discuss how we might come to a constructive resolution for the benefit of the Otago community."
Ms Simmonds said the government was taking a responsible approach to re-establishing regionally governed polytechnics.
The federation model had been clearly communicated, she said.
"The federation does not dilute academic achievement or autonomy — it preserves local governance while enabling collaboration, anchored by the Open Polytechnic, on shared services such as online learning resources and academic board.”
She said a $157 million contingency was put in place in Budget 2024 to support the transition, if needed.
"We expect to use some or all of the contingency, depending on the level of debt and transition costs involved in re-establishing the polytechnics."
