Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds released a discussion document yesterday which outlined plans to group the weakest polytechnics in a federation and let the strongest institutions stand alone.
Senior Otago Polytechnic Te Pukenga staff member Craig West said he was confident the Otago region would be able to "stand on its own".
"We’ve been a high-performing polytechnic in the past and I’m sure we could be one in the future.
"However, the document is very ‘airy-fairy’ in parts - it’s not really clear about anything."
Mr West was pleased the document proposed to change the funding structure, but he also worried "smaller, yet effective courses" could be targeted or downsized in the new model.
"A lot of those courses still feed into the diplomas. They serve a need."
The document also proposes changes to vocational education funding from 2026 to better support the reformed system.
In contrast to Te Pūkenga, there would be no head office.
Instead, the federation would "utilise existing systems and processes of the Open Polytechnic in particular, but also member ITPs [institutes of technology and polytechnics] where applicable".
Mr West said while all of the proposals sounded workable in theory, he was worried staff would be put through "even more uncertainty" in the short-to-medium term.
"Staff have been put through the ringer over the past four years, to be blunt."
Ms Simmonds said yesterday after four years and hundreds of millions of wasted taxpayer dollars, the previous government’s Te Pūkenga mega-merger had been "nothing but an abject disaster".
"Not only is it a financial mess, drowning in debt of over $250 million while carrying a bloated, centralised bureaucracy, but it has failed spectacularly in its aim to provide quality, relevant learning to the regions."
Former Otago Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker said the minister had put a "stake in the ground".
"If Otago is still in good health, then there is a good chance it would end up being a stand-alone institution.
"I should declare that I am a strong advocate of a federal model for polytechnics - it strikes a balance of institutional autonomy with having a sector that operates as a system."
Mr Ker said a "back of the envelope" assumption would be that "about one-third" of the former ITPs could "stand on their own".
Tertiary Education Union general secretary Daniel Benson-Guiu said there was merit in a more regionally focused approach, but key details were still lacking in the document.
"We simply don’t know which polytechnics will be workable because the document just doesn’t say.
"We can make all sorts of assumptions at this stage and get it wildly wrong.
"This proposed change has some creative ideas in it, but we want them to be long-term, so the system works for communities - and staff can focus on their teaching."
The union was "cautiously optimistic" about the proposed structure, he said.
"However, the devil will really be in the detail.
"Staff have been engaged in so many processes in the past few years that many of them will feel cynical and worn-down."
Mr Benson-Guiu said he was concerned about the proposed "focus on sustainability".
"It could lead to some communities losing provisions, which would seem to go against the proposal to return vocational education to the regions," Mr Benson-Guiu said.
The previous Labour government merged the country’s 16 ITPs and nine Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) into Te Pukenga, but a Ministry of Education regulatory impact statement released yesterday said "after four years it has yet to deliver fundamental change in outcomes for stakeholders or on the intended benefits of Te Pūkenga’s national network, including any material shift in delivery models or integrating its work-based and provider-based delivery and in addressing fundamental financial issues".
"These issues may be resolved in time, as Te Pūkenga finalises its operating model and identifies opportunities to leverage the breadth and reach of its delivery. However, it is also possible that the model is simply too unwieldy for the organisation to make this transition in a timely manner."
Submissions are open until September 12 and can be made via the Ministry of Education website.
