Initial ARA Enrolments In Freefall: More than 5,400; Male Students Down By Almost One Third
On the back of a 2022 $88 million loss, Te Pukenga show enrolments at ARA have gone into freefall. Rolling enrolments during the year might well be Ara's saving grace.
ARA’s enrolment numbers have gone into freefall.
On 1 March this year, ARA said “Interest in on-campus vocational education is on the increase with Ara Institute of Canterbury receiving 5.9% more full-time student enrolments so far in 2024 compared with the same period last year.”
Source: ARA
However Te Pukenga student data provided exclusively to The New Zealand Reporter, paints a vastly different picture of ARA’s growth.
The data show ARA’s enrolment numbers have dropped by more than 5,400 over the past 4 years.
Male participation in all levels of education have fallen off between 2023 and this year. This is most noticeable at level 1, with enrolments falling from 789 to 297, and at level 4, falling from 2092 to 1076. These figures might also be overinflated, with some students studying at more than one level.
NZR
In 2020, students numbered 12,365. In 2023, 11,270 were enrolled. This year enrolments have fallen to 8,346.
Between 2020 and 2024, that’s a 32.5% reduction. And between 2023 and this year, it’s 28.79%.
Source: ARA
Male enrolments have also tumbled. Between 2020 and 2024, they dipped by 34.14%; and between 2023 and 2024 by 33.27%. Amongst the female cohort, they dipped by 31.21% and 25% respectively.
This crash has come amidst the government’s decision to halt the merging of 16 educational and training institutions into one nationwide restructure known collectively as Te Pukenga and the mega-structure posting a $88-million loss in 2022. Click the hyperlinks to read the Radio NZ articles.
Te Pukenga’s data also reveals a growing gender gap.
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