LAST WEEK: Future of Bendigo TAFE still in spotlight

BENDIGO TAFE acting chief executive Peter Coyne has confirmed he is in the later stages of talks with Melbourne's Kangan Institute about a possible merger.

"That comes after about 12 months of really exploring all sorts of possible partnerships, both regionally and into metropolitan TAFE colleges," Mr Coyne said.

However, Mr Coyne maintained no decision had been made and it was not yet a done deal.

"We're really looking to the future though and, for us, it really is about quality offerings to the students of regional Victoria," he said.

"The last thing we want to be is a small, struggling local provider.

"We want to be strong, successful and really focused on quality education."

Mr Coyne said Kangan Institute had emerged as a "front runner" because it was a "very, very strong institute across the north-western suburbs of Melbourne".

"Also, a lot of their student catchment really comes up the Calder arterial and really starts to blend with our catchment as well," he said.

"The other thing about Kangan is that unlike some of the metropolitan colleges that are starting to struggle as well, Kangan is in a very strong position and has very strong management in place.

"So we see them as a potential really strong partner for Bendigo.

"If we just think about our students in central Victoria, all our campuses will remain open.

"But probably, more importantly, we will have a broader offering of qualifications across our campuses ... Kangan has approximately 280 qualifications on their scope, Bendigo has about 140, so that really opens up a lot of opportunity where we want to go, particularly in relation to health and education."

Mr Coyne said Kangan Institute was also placing emphasis on online learning.

"That costs a lot of money, but for us, if you can really deliver blended learning into remote and regional communities, it really adds a lot of value to students who can't always be on campus or be travelling to regional centres," he said.

"So that's a real possibility for us and their model."