Free computers not way to go says Bill English

National MP Bill English has attacked a Rotorua Maori tertiary education provider for offering about 2000 students free computers if they complete their studies.

Mr English accused the institute of wasting "precious dollars" on inducements.

From July, anyone enrolled on free National Certificate in Computing Level 1 and 2 courses at Te Wananga o Aotearoa will be eligible for the pilot scheme.

Wananga chief executive Rongo Wetere defended the scheme, saying it was an incentive for students to do well.

Mr Wetere said the computers, provided by IBM, would be paid for by the Aotearoa Charitable Trust, set up in 1987.

Te Wananga was formed in 1994.

They were not being funded from the wananga's $40 million treaty settlement announced by the Government in 2002, he said.

The latest offer follows a scheme last year in which 15,000 students received free mobile telephones for enrolling in the wananga's free Mahi Ora correspondence course.

It comes amid Government concern over a dramatic increase in the number of students enrolled with the wananga.

The Government chopped funding and capped student numbers at tertiary institutions after it discovered an estimated $115 million was being paid for community education it considered of "debatable quality".

The Government expressed concern over a similar scheme at the New Plymouth-based Practical Education Training Centre, which last year gave students computers paid for out of tuition fees.

The wananga's latest offer was intended to encourage students to complete their studies, Mr Wetere said.

He was not prepared to reveal how much the scheme would cost.

"We will try anything that works that achieves a goal," he said.

"They have to achieve and pass to qualify."

The wananga began offering the free computer courses four years ago. There are 11 wananga campuses throughout New Zealand.

Rotorua wananga virtual learning centre manager Jay Bocock described the scheme as a "graduate scholarship" that would encourage students to further their education.

"We are trying to up the resources to help improve students' outcomes ... It's also about getting more computers into the hands of families. This will allow them 24-7 access to the internet for research and further self-directed learning," he said.

The tertiary provider was leasing computers from IBM for its computer students, who were also offered a free internet connection, Mr Bocock said.

Mr English said his party did not have an issue with tertiary providers offering free courses.

But National felt the Government was paying far too much to polytechs pushing through as many students as possible, regardless of whether students were learning anything.

"Many of these courses are grossly over-subsidised and tertiary institutions shouldn't be wasting precious dollars on inducements," he said.

"The tertiary education dollar should go towards educating students, paying academics and providing quality qualifications."

A spokesman for the Associate Minister of Education, Steve Maharey, said he was unable to comment on the pilot project.

The wananga had told officials it was still developing the concept, he said.

- NZPA