Whanganui UCOL’s enrolment numbers are down significantly this year, by more than 22 per cent, and high employment rates are being blamed for this by the Labour Party and its local MP. While outside factors have an impact, there is a much bigger culprit, in my opinion, that weshould be focused on - centralisation.
From 2003 to 2007 I served on the UCOL council, where roughly every third meeting was held here in Whanganui. It kept us focused on the issues affecting the Whanganui campus, particularly as it was during the transition from the old Whanganui Polytechnic site to the new campus on Taupō Quay.
The campus here has some amazing history, with the Whanganui School of Design being a particularly important part of this. For a period of time, it was one of the top 10 design schools in the world and drew overseas students and lecturers to our town.
Centralisation is all about control, and very much like what has happened with Three Waters, takes away local input and gives it to bureaucrats in Wellington. Chris Hipkins was warned by the sector that his centralised model wasn’t going to deliver better educational outcomes or be more financially viable, but he pushed ahead with it anyway.
This type of control dehumanises the process - when those making decisions on what courses to “cancel” in our provincial towns do not have to front up and see the staff, businesses, students and community affected by those decisions on a daily basis.
While National understands the polytech sector has its challenges, we also understand that locals know best when it comes to “reviving” things like the Whanganui School of Design. Our community, including local businesses and the council, understand what is needed and how to deliver it.
National will roll back the centralisation of UCOL and will bring back local control, and we’ll strengthen our economy so we can deliver better education outcomes. I’ve launched a petition to localise control of UCOL Whanganui, which you can find at: www.national.org.nz/makeucollocal.
