Otago Polytechnic students have staged a bold protest against government funding cuts to the polytechnic sector.
Five members of the Otago Polytechnic Students Association (OPSA) executive masked as Finance Minister Bill English and Education Minister Anne Tolley lookalikes erected 22 "for sale" signs on the campus last night.
The signs listed Mr English and Mrs Tolley as the agents for "National Realty", a company which was offering the polytechnic for auction.
The Dunedin protest was mirrored by Universal College of Learning students at campuses in Palmerston North, Wanganui and Wairarapa.
The protests were to highlight the detrimental effect on students of the Government's decision to remove $60 million from the polytechnic sector over the next 14 months, would have, OPSA acting president Meegan Cloughley said last night.
"Selling off polytechnics is one possible future for some New Zealand polytechnics if under-funding of the sector continues."
Ms Cloughley said she "would bet $100" the Government would end its fee maxima scheme within a year.
The scheme regulates fees and annual increases, and tertiary institutions cannot exceed them without special permission.
Once the fee maxima scheme was gone, polytechnics would increase fees to balance their books, and that would have a detrimental effect on students.
"By ripping away funding for the polytechnic sector, National is undermining students' ability to study to their full potential," she said.
