9 Nov 2010

Tertiary staff worried about their institutions' future

8:45 pm on 9 November 2010

Tertiary education staff are nervous about the future of the country's universities, polytechnics and wananga.

Members of the Tertiary Education Union, which held its annual conference in Wellington on Tuesday, are worried about restructuring and lack of funding - especially among polytechnics.

The Government is funding more students than ever before, but the union's leaders say the money does not go far and the amount of funding per student has fallen over time.

They also worry about restructuring, saying there were 50 major reviews in tertiary institutions this year as well as hundreds of minor changes.

The union's vice-president for polytechnic general staff, Ken Laraman, says that's taking its toll on staff, who fear that quality and opportunities for second-chance learners will suffer.