Mayor’s column: Future of NMIT

A critical issue for our region is the future of our polytechnic. I have been working hard with others to try and secure its future as a standalone tertiary education provider.

Our polytechnic started in 1905 as the Nelson Technical School on land provided in Hardy St by Nelson City Council. It evolved into the Nelson Polytechnic in 1971 and then became the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) in 2000. It has consistently performed well in student achievement, partnering with industry and in attracting international students. It has excelled in areas such as nursing, maritime industries, commerce and the arts. It was well governed and had strong finances with nearly $20 million in reserves.

The mega merger of NZ’s 16 polytechnics into Te Pūkenga in 2020 by the previous Government was justified by some getting into financial trouble. It has been an expensive flop with student achievement falling, a revolving door of Chief Executives, staff morale plummeting and worsening deficits. We have been particularly disadvantaged by losing the opportunity to market Nelson as a great place to study and to partner closely with local industry.

NMIT is for many in the region the only practical path to a tertiary education. Its importance to business is in upskilling staff and improving productivity. The students NMIT attracts to the region from around NZ and abroad add economic activity and vibrancy to the city. There is also an important synergy for Nelson with our Cawthron Institute, NZ’s largest independent science organisation.

The new Government is dismantling Te Pūkenga and is publicly consulting in coming weeks on alternatives. Some advisers want Nelson to be a branch of Christchurch’s polytechnic or of the Open Polytechnic based in Lower Hutt.

The Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough Mayors, eight Te Tauihu iwi and four business organisations wrote jointly to the Government earlier this month, advocating a return to our own locally governed institution. I have reinforced this message in meetings with Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds, the Prime Minister and other Ministers. A strong, locally governed polytechnic is a key part of plans to revitalise our city.