Tertiary merger plan resisted

Tamati Coffey

Concern about a potential merger between Rotorua and Tauranga's tertiary institutes is mounting with locals organising a public meeting and protest to raise awareness of their concerns.

However, Waiariki Institute of Technology maintains the possibility of a merger would be good news for Rotorua and the business model, available online, answers the "misinformed" conceptions some people have.

Public consultation on the proposed merger between Waiariki and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (BOPP) begun late last month and will close on September 22.

According to the Tertiary Education Commission, 13 submissions have been received so far.

The proposal is to disestablish the existing organisations and form an entirely new institution serving the Bay of Plenty region.

A new Facebook group, Keep Waiariki Local, was set up this week and has quickly gained hundreds of followers.

Tamati Coffey is one of the group's organisers and said it was set up in an attempt to "get people sitting up and realising the negative impact this merger could have on Rotorua".

"This is a non-political event as there are people across the political spectrum who have voiced concerns about this merger. I am acting as a concerned Rotorua resident who doesn't want to see tertiary education shipped out of our city.

"I've read the 166-page business case and came out of it feeling none the wiser and still wondering why they are trying to fix a system that isn't broken."

A public meeting about the proposal is being held next Wednesday in the Rotorua Lakes Council Chamber from 6pm.

"It gives people the chance to have their questions answered by management and voice any concerns, because at the moment many still haven't heard a good reason for this merger to go ahead," Mr Coffey said.

Waiariki student Mericia Waqanimaravu has helped organise a public protest on the day before public consultation ends.

"We are just wanting to delay the process a bit so it can be done with proper public consultation. It all feels really rushed and there are lots of questions that are sitting unanswered, for example, what standing will our qualifications from Waiariki have when Waiariki no longer exists?"

The New Zealand Union of Students' Associations president Rory McCourt visited Rotorua last week to get a clearer picture of the reasons for the merger.

He said a common concern expressed was the process to merge was moving too fast.

"We don't know why this merger is being proposed because there are no clear weaknesses to either of the institutes - we don't know what the motives are behind the merger."

Waiariki chief executive Professor Margaret Noble said the institute had received "many positive and supportive responses" as well as some negative ones.

"So far a common issue is the misinformed perception that everything will be moving to Tauranga. The proposal is to provide more choice in more locations."

Professor Noble said the reasons for the merger were clearly set out in the business case and she encouraged people to read it.