English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:617;Page:12709] 
5.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (National—Clutha-Southland) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education) 
: Has he asked Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology how it enrolled 96610 people in classification 5.1 community education courses in 2003; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education)) 
: 
 Those are short courses and students often enrol in more than one course so total enrolment figures inevitably involve a significant amount of multiple counting. For instance about 72000 of those 96610 people are likely to reflect about 18000 students who have each enrolled in four related computing courses. The actual number of individuals enrolled in classification 5.1 courses at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology was 35488. I have not asked the polytechnic about its classification 5.1 enrolments but I have involved it in meetings with the sector and the Tertiary Education Commission has talked to it about changes in policy. 
Hon Bill English 
: Is the Minister aware that those enrolments were obtained by offering to schools a payment of $20 per person whom they enrolled and that those schools included the Bay of Islands College; and is he aware that libraries were offered a $20 payment for enrolling students and that people were approached in shopping malls and offered $10 book vouchers to enrol in a free course and does he believe that that is a good use of taxpayers’ money? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: I am informed by officials that the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology spent $80000 in total on book vouchers. That was largely $20 plus GST for each person who was involved. One of the things the Government has been impressing upon providers is that we do not want to see them spending money on anything other than education. 
H V Ross Robertson 
: Is it Government policy to “trust institutions to run themselves” and that students “do not need some dictatorial Minister in charge of tertiary education telling them what they should or should not study” as advocated by the Hon Dr Nick Smith? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: No we take a more balanced view than Dr Smith which is not difficult. Government policy is to value institutional autonomy so it is important to balance that with the efficient use of national resources in the national interest and the demands of accountability. Our policy is to ensure that through the Tertiary Education Commission the overall provision of New Zealand’s skill needs is met and that students make well-informed decisions. 
Jim Peters 
: Has the Minister fully considered the roll-on impact from likely increased numbers of students and the tertiary funding needed for those students as a result of the present National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualification which now fully and comprehensively includes unit and achievement standards to level 3; if not why not? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: If I understand the question correctly it asked whether we have costed the students who will come through from the NCEA. Yes we have. 
Hon Bill English 
: Is the Minister aware that the course Cool IT for which the Government paid Christchurch Polytechnic over $8 million is a joint venture between Christchurch Polytechnic and Brylton Software that Brylton Software is jointly owned by Vicki Buck and that Vicki Buck is also the development officer for the Christchurch Polytechnic? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: No I am not aware of that particular connection between Vicki Buck and that company. If the member has details that he thinks constitute a conflict of interest he knows what to do with them—that is to give the details to me. Overall I am saying of course that the 5.1 course classification has now attracted the attention of the Government and the funding will be capped. 
Hon Bill English 
: What is it about the Minister and his policy that leads polytechnics and their staff to regard community education as a gravy train they can all get on where they can force budget blowouts and enrol literally hundreds of thousands of people in low-quality CD-based courses for which there is no assessment no quality approvals no supervision and no qualification? 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: It is important to remember that the 5.1 classification was introduced in 1999 by the then National Government and that we are the Government that has capped the funding. I do want to tell Mr English that this country has for a long time supported adult and community informal education and this party will continue to do so.