25 Nov 2009 08:27am
FIFTY extra students will be able to study at Witt next year after it was named a ‘‘high-performing’’ polytech by the Government.
The Taranaki institution has received $225,180 in student funding to go towards its nursing, engineering and Maori courses.
The funding was allocated to the polytechnics by the Tertiary Education Commission, based on Witt’s performance in delivering education and training to students under 25, and students at higher levels of training.
Witt’s allocation equates to 30 full-time equivalent students, or about 50 actual students.
In its application for the funding, Witt had asked for 40 full-time equivalents.
The funding comes after 328 student were turned away from Witt in August because of a Government-enforced cap on numbers.
Chief executive Richard Handley said while the funding only meant a small number of extra places, it was a solid acknowledgement of Witt’s good performance. ‘‘This is good news. We notice that there are a number of polytechs who didn’t receive funding.’’
The programmes that received funding were all high performing courses which served the needs of Taranaki well, Mr Handley said. Eleven other polytechs were also granted extra money by Education Minister Anne Tolley yesterday, with some receiving up to $1.2 million each.
Mrs Tolley said the funding was part of the Government’s Youth Opportunities package, designed to help those institutions cope with forecast enrolment growth.
‘‘At a time of limited opportunities, this will enable more young people to access meaningful education and training,’’ she said.
Taranaki Daily News 25 November 2009
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