The Government will return 10 polytechnics to regional governance from the start of next year in an unwinding of Labour’s decision to merge them into Te Pūkenga.
It’s being described as a “major milestone” for New Zealand’s vocational education system, which the minister in charge wants to be “locally led, regionally responsive and future focused”.
However, Labour is warning the changes will result in “major job losses” in already struggling regions.
A handful of polytechnics will remain part of Te Pūkenga for now as they “work towards viability”.
The Government says legislation allows mergers or closures if any polytechnic cannot achieve viability.
“We campaigned vigorously against Labour’s reforms which saw all New Zealand polytechnics merged into one unwieldy and uneconomic central institution, Te Pūkenga, taking away the ability of regions to respond to local training and employer needs,” said Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds.
“Labour dismantled regionally-led vocational education – and we are restoring it."
There are 10 polytechnics returning to regional governance from January 1, 2026. They are:
The Government said the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand will the “anchor polytechnic” of the new federation.
This will co-ordinate programmes and other services and will “provide a low overhead way for polytechnics to create more efficient business models than they could on their own through the use of online learning resources and programmes”.
“NorthTec, Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT), Whitireia Community Polytechnic and Wellington Institute of Technology (Whitireia and WelTec), and Tai Poutini Polytechnic (TPP) will remain within Te Pūkenga for now as they work toward viability, with decisions due in the first half of 2026.”
Te Pūkenga will act as a transitional entity for up to a year to manage unallocated programmes and support a smooth handover, the Government said.
The changes are part of legislation currently being considered by the Education and Workforce Select Committee. The Government said it allows mergers or closures if any of the polytechnics cannot achieve viability.
“With more than 250,000 students in the vocational education system each year, these changes offer greater flexibility, financial sustainability, and ensure training remains relevant to employment needs,” Simmonds says.
Simmonds has been overseeing the dismantling of Te Pūkenga, a mega-merger of the country’s polytechnics and training organisations.
She previously described the polytech cluster as an “abject disaster” and a “financial mess” drowning in hundreds of millions of dollars of debt.
Labour tertiary education spokesman Shanan Halbert said Goverment’s change would return to polytechnic sector to a model that he claimed was “never financially viable”.
“Toi Ohomai’s Tokoroa campus could close, which is huge for a town that has also just lost its mill. WIT had proposed more job cuts as of Friday to business and hospitality.
“NorthTec, EIT and Ucol have been forced to propose further cuts as a result of the Government’s proposals already.
“This Government could have simply addressed some of the issues Te Pukenga had, without disestablishing it, and avoided all the expense and uncertainly this has had on staff and students.”
Te Pūkenga was established in April 2020 under the previous Labour government and merged 25 polytechnics and industry training organisations into one national network.
Last week, RNZ reported warnings from Te Pūkenga’s managers that the Government will still need to bail out the struggling polytechnics despite the reforms.
The mega-merger’s chief financial officer James Smith told a Parliamentary select committee the changes being made would leave behind a “simplistic, inefficient volumetric system” with no ability to adjust price based on scale.
“We also expect because of this that the Government will be relied upon for further ad hoc financial support for ITPs (Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics) in the future,” he said.