The country's 16 polytechnics are set to become one, under a radical shake-up of the tertiary sector.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins has released a wide-ranging plan, aimed at getting more school leavers into good jobs.

It will see a single national body to take over all polytechnics, apprentices and industry trainees.

The institutes will merge to form the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.

That new body will take over all of New Zealand's 110-000 polytechnic students and 140,000 apprentices and industry trainees.

The institute will also take over programme design and administration for all campuses of what are now 16 separate polytechnics, as well as enrolling and managing apprentices and trainees from the now 11 industry training organisations.

Also today, a sterilisation botch-up in Hawke's Bay has left 55 surgical patients potentially being exposed to serious diseases including HIV and hepatitis, and the Salvation Army reveals its annual State of the National report, showing a huge gap between the wealthy and the poor.

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