Struggling polytech sector holds crisis meeting

Hard on the heels of news of the Government's $33 million bailout of the West Coast's Tai Poutini Polytechnic, Polytech leaders are holding a crisis meeting to discuss how to save the struggling sector. Morning Report understands the meeting in Auckland today will be attended by all polytech chief executives, Education Minister Chris Hipkins, the Tertiary Education Commission and the organisation that represents the sector's 16 polytechs. At the centre of the sector's difficulty is a funding crisis linked to a sharp fall in the number of equivalent fulltime students or EFTS. Thursday's meeting is organised by the Tertiary Education Union whose national president Sandra Grey joins Guyon Espiner to discuss the issue.