Bay of Plenty could have a new tertiary institution as soon as next year with Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Waiariki Institute of Technology agreeing to a full merger, subject to consultation.

But first it must seek Ministerial and Cabinet approval for the green light.

The Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Waiariki Institute of Technology will merge to form a completely new institution.

After lengthy discussions the institutes' respective councils agreed the formation of a single merged entity is their preferred option.

They are now seeking feedback before making a final recommendation to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce.

It's a move that will deliver greater education opportunities for the wider Bay of Plenty region and has Dr Neil Barns, Government-appointed deputy council chair of both institutions, excited.

'Both councils agree that combining the two institutions is the best path to achieving educational outcomes to support a stronger future regional economy.”

The Polytechnic and Waiariki have looked at ways to work more collaboratively for a number of years. Earlier this year both institutions' councils investigated a number of collaboration options.

Deciding upon its preferred option, likely to deliver the greatest benefits to the region, the new institution could be established as early as January 1, 2016, subject to Ministerial and Cabinet approval.

'While BoPP and Waiariki are each well performing institutions, a single institution would be better able to serve the current and future educational and employment needs and priorities of individual, communities and industry in the wider region,” says Neil.

'It would play a significant role in helping the region achieve its strategic goals by providing relevant education and training.”

One area Neil says is important in the Bay of Plenty region is the significant population of young Maori who will be key contributors to the future workforce.

By partnering more effectively with iwi, and providing greater access for dispersed communities, the proposed new institution could help to ensure better education and employment outcomes for young Maori.

For the foreseeable future, it will be business as usual for both the Polytechnic and Waiariki and students will be able to complete their programmes of study.

Both institutions will continue offering their wide range of programmes at certificate, diploma, degree and postgraduate level from campuses across the region and with various start dates throughout the year.

The proposed new institution would be governed by a new appointed council and led by a newly appointed chief executive. On creation of a new institution, existing Polytechnic and Waiariki staff would be transferred, under existing employment conditions, to the new institution.

Subject to the engagement with staff, students, iwi and other stakeholders that is currently underway, the next step would be to seek the approval of the business case for the merger from of Steve Joyce.

Subject to the feedback received from the current stakeholder engagement, it is planned the two councils would forward the business case to the Minister next month.

The two institutes are already co-operating to establish a new $88 million tertiary campus in Tauranga's CBD. The other partners in the project were the University of Waikato and Whakatane's Te Whare Wananga O Awanuiarangi.

But the Labour Party are coming out in opposition to the announcement saying the two institutes are the latest victims of National's chronic underfunding of regional polytechs – another potential nail in the coffin for the regions.

'Since 2010, the Government has made $60 million of real cuts to the budget for regional polytechs. As a result, there are more mergers like this one as polytechs in the regions struggle to do more with less,” says Labour's Tertiary Education spokesperson David Cunliffe.

As a result the key issue for the Bay of Plenty and Waiariki will be ensuring this merger does not stop people studying, says David.

'Strong and vibrant regional polytechs mean every Kiwi has access to high quality education no matter where they live. We can't have people's postcodes determining the quality of their education.”

Visit www.boppoly.ac.nz or www.waiariki.ac.nz for more information about the closer collaboration between the Polytechnic and Waiariki.