Low-value courses to be cut by $160m

Cash for low-quality polytechnic courses will be slashed as part of a $160 million education overhaul aimed at raising standards.

The shake-up comes after a policy review started when the Government was embarrassed last year by revelations that millions of dollars had been spent on courses such as twilight golf and Maori singalong lessons.

The review examined diplomas, certificates, adult and community education taught at the country's 20 polytechnics and institutes of technology and three Maori institutes or wananga.

Last year the institutions received $612.8 million for courses.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said Government money would be directed towards relevant, high-quality courses - in particular literacy and numeracy courses and apprenticeships.

The individual courses that will lose cash have not been decided on.

Mr Mallard said the money would be reinvested in the sector and he reassured institutes - a number of which are in financial difficulty - that they would get funding to help them adjust to the changes.

A fund of $177.8 million over five years will be set up to help the institutes offer courses of higher quality.

But National Party education spokesman Bill English said this was effectively a slush fund that invited corruption.

"Polytechs won't even have to offer an extra course or teach another student to get money from Labour's slush fund. No money is flowing to higher-quality courses - it's just a lolly scramble."

Mr English said the shake-up of the sector confirmed his view that the Government's tertiary strategy had been a $2 billion failure.

"The changes amount to nothing more than shifting the deckchairs around on the Titanic."

Mr Mallard, who took over the tertiary education portfolio from Steve Maharey at the end of last year, said the problems stemmed from deregulation in the 1990s when institutes were encouraged to get as many "backsides on seats" as possible with little regard to quality.

But it is in the past five years that the courses have proliferated.

Mr Mallard said the Government wanted to ensure it was getting value for money.

"This is not fat," Mr Mallard said of the $160 million being cut, "it's just muscle that is not being used very well and it will be used much better as a result of the changes."

Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics executive director Jim Doyle said the sector was generally positive about the Government's plans.

He said that while money would be cut from some courses it would be returned to the sector, which would provide better value for students as they would have greater access to high-quality courses.

Gisborne's Tairawhiti Polytechnic, which once offered courses in twilight golf and personal grooming and was $3.37 million in deficit for 2004, is confident it will meet the new quality criteria.

Tairawhiti chief executive Mark Chapman said the new policy was not a threat "as long as we're delivering programmes that are relevant and operating in an efficient way".

"It gives more certainty about the future in terms of funding."

Polytech troubles

* The problem Low-quality courses have sprouted at polytechs in the past five years.

* Student numbers in certificate and diploma courses have grown 116 per cent since 2000 and in community education training by 546 per cent.

* The solution $160 million will be cut from such courses.

* $177.8 million over five years will be available to help institutes to adjust.

- additional reporting: Derek Cheng