Education
Student orientation celebrations are well underway in Invercargill at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT).
This year, SIT is celebrating 25 years since the Zero Fees Scheme was first launched.
And it was fitting that the new Chief Executive, Bharat Guha, was the chief financial officer for SIT back in 2001 when then CEO and now MP for Invercargill, Penny Simmonds, first introduced the initiative.
Students were welcomed onto the campus on Monday by SIT staff and guests with a pōwhiri, followed by a market day, which included food trucks and stalls.
SIT Kaumatua Michael Skerrett carried out his usual roles in the pōwhiri, then Mr Guha welcomed everyone and introduced Ms Simmonds who was guest speaker.
There has been plenty of free food given out in Hansen Hall over the week, with hundreds of students taking advantage of pizza, coffee, donuts, cheese rolls and a barbecue. They’ve also enjoyed activities and games, a live DJ, and players from the Southern Steel netball team called in for a visit as well.
Mr Guha said Wednesday's Wellbeing Expo was popular with good numbers coming through.
A scavenger hunt involving nine photographic clues around campus was also a hit, and the week will be rounded out on campus with more free food provided by XO Church.
Mr Guha is keen to get in touch with the ‘pioneers’ – the first students - of the Zero Fees Scheme to include them in the 25-year celebrations. He emphasised that due to the iconic scheme, SIT students had smaller student loans and began their post-study lives with more financial freedom.
“Zero Fees means lower student loan debt, which means you can buy your first house faster, or go on holiday faster, or buy a faster V8… the possibilities are endless for SIT graduates.“
In his new role, he has been starting to rebuild relationships with staff and is focused on ensuring enrolments continue to trend upwards both nationally and internationally.
Domestic numbers are up 4% for the start of the year and there has been a small increase in international students as well.
“This year we have had Aucklanders coming down, which is super,” he said.
IT and business courses are popular in 2026, along with Nursing, and SIT has introduced a number of new initiatives to encourage more international students to enrol.
These include offering Zero Fees English and pre-entry courses for international students. “… we are getting a lot of inquiries,” he said, and as a result, he expects to see a big increase in numbers by the end of the year.
Originally from Singapore, Mr Guha said in South-East Asia they like to celebrate and recognise the old contributions that people have made to organisations - hence why SIT wants to mark the 25-year milestone.
