Questions are being raised around a spike in student drop out rates.

Ministry of Education figures released to Stuff show one in three first-year polytech students quit last year.

New national polytech agency, Te Pukenga, is under fire for a ballooning deficit and falling enrolments.

But Tertiary Education Union President, Tina Smith, told Heather du Plessis-Allan students drop out for a range of reasons.

She says it could be because of personal circumstances or because they've been approached by a business who wants to take them on.

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