Doubts raised over timing of SIT funding boost

The timing of a $6.5 million boost for the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) is not linked to recent funding cuts, says the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).

SIT has been awarded $6.56m from the Government's Quality Reinvestment Fund, which is administered by the TEC.

The announcement comes just two months after the commission's latest funding round slashed $6.2m from SIT's budget.

The December cut prompted a campaign by Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt against the Government's new tertiary education funding formula.

A series of newspaper advertisements claimed the changes would affect SIT and the economic growth its fee-free courses brought to his city.

TEC's group manager communications, Andrew Bristol, said talks with SIT about the latest grant began a year ago.

The timing and figure involved were coincidental.

The money was intended to be used solely in Southland, he said.

Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) asked the government to intervene last year over what it believed was harmful competition from SIT.

CPIT had been unhappy about the southern institute competing for students in Christchurch with its zero-fees policy in trades training.

Faced with a $2.5m deficit in 2007, CPIT passed a raft of changes to stave off financial crisis.

These included the decision to no longer offer its trades courses free.

CPIT chief executive Neil Barns said the SIT grant would "act as a bit of replacement" for the money lost in funding announcements late last year.

"You suspect there's a bit of a message in here from the TEC saying, `we don't want you to do these other things', but still encourage development in Southland," he said.

The $6.2m funding cut had forced SIT to stop its Christchurch-based driver training courses this year, some of which had been picked up by CPIT, said Barns.

However, SIT's fees-free trades training was continuing in direct competition with the Christchurch polytech, he said.

"Theirs is fees-free and ours is not and we do expect that to affect us."

Fees for a CPIT trades course in 2008 would be around $2000, he said.

Barns was still pushing to have SIT give up its Christchurch campus, which he said would be in line with government policy not to fund out-of-region provision. He said a report from the TEC was due by May this year, allowing the Government to make a final decision on the situation.

CPIT would be able to handle the 300 trades students SIT currently catered for and would be willing to look into retaining the southern institute's Christchurch campus, he said.

TEC acting chief executive Dr Colin Webb said the $6.2m grant was for SIT to establish an Industry training centre and business development centre in Southland. The TEC would keep a close eye on how the money was spent, he said.

Neither Shadbolt nor SIT chief executive Penny Simmonds could be contacted yesterday for comment.

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