Student: Merger attacks baseless

People who have spoken out against the possible merger between Rotorua and Tauranga polytechnics are "jumping to negative conclusions without knowing the facts", a student leader says.

The proposed merger between between Waiariki Institute of Technology and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic could take effect as soon as January.

It has prompted much discussion, with high profile locals including former Waiariki chairman Grahame Hall, councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait and Labour Party spokesman Tamati Coffey publicly expressing concerns about its impact on Rotorua.

Waiariki Student Association chairwoman Amy Uluave told the Rotorua Daily Post students and staff of the institute had been consulted thoroughly throughout the collaboration talks.

"Professor Margaret Noble has been outstanding with the whole process and approached myself and co-president Kelly Papuni of the Waiariki student council before the idea of a possible collaboration was mentioned. We have held a few meetings since then where Margaret engaged with students to hear what we think and what concerns we had."

Ms Uluave said she was particularly upset by comments made recently by Mr Coffey about the potential merger as he "hasn't once come down to our campus to see what was going on".

"It is fine to be questioning the merger but people can't just assume it's going to have all these negative effects for Rotorua without knowing the facts. People who are saying Tauranga will be the hub of the new institution because it's bigger are making assumptions and need to stop jumping to negative conclusions without knowing the facts."

She said a "huge positive" of the merger would be the shared resources between institutes enabling better service to regions.

"The new institution will have the potential to increase scale and reach, enhance service provision, attract higher quality staff, reduce unnecessary competition and confusion in the region and support greater interaction with industry and professionals.

"The only potentially negative aspect students have expressed concern about was the loss of our sense of identity. If we go ahead with this merger, we lose the history the name holds and the mana it holds to be a Waiariki student."

Ms Uluave said Waiariki had been upfront during the consultation process and gave students all the information they asked for.

"It's great the community is so invested in ensuring Rotorua's tertiary education retains its high standard and I'm sure they will be consulted when the time is right but at the end of the day, it's the students who matter most and Waiariki has endeavoured to keep us informed and involved throughout the whole process."

Mr Coffey did not wish to comment.