Governance reform : institute of technology councils

Abstract

This study examines the composition of the councils of New Zealand Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics prior to and subsequent to passing of the Polytechnics Education Amendment Act (PEAA). The Act reduced the size of councils, allowed greater government control over appointments and required council members to have appropriate skills and experience to improve the governance capability and effectiveness of ITP councils.

The study compares the skills and experience of council members before during and after the implementation of the PEAA to assess the extent to which the member profile of councils has changed to reflect legislative intent. The study finds that councils now have members who are more highly qualified with greater experience in governance and operational roles. These changes are in line with the government’s objective of improving the financial viability of the ITP sector.

However the move to greater stewardship has had trade-offs in terms of stakeholder representation. Maori representation on councils did not increase and some councils have no Maori representation. Additionally, ITP councils are still male dominated and there has been a decrease in the proportion of women appointed to them. These are both areas where improvement is necessary.