The NZ School of Radio, located in Tauranga's Grey Street, is closing as of today, due to an onging struggle of funding following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The final straw leading to the closure comes from the Government dropping support of institutions like the radio school, says NZ School of Radio manager Hamish Denton.

'We've lost a lot of students due to Covid-19. The Government also dropped its support for institutions like ours this year.

'The Government had given us a break last year due to Covid-19. This year they have removed that break, even though the level of struggle is the same if not worse, and the funding had to be paid back.

'Radio is also very niche in New Zealand, so it's hard to attract and sustain large enough student numbers to make it viable.”

Hamish adds that the current students at the school will be 'seen out” and will be able to graduate with their qualification after this semester.

'We wanted to do right by them.

'The industry is really positive at the moment, It's quite ironic timing. We have three weeks to go until our graduation and four of our students have jobs already.

'The job market is really strong at the moment. There's lots of opportunities. With all the people planning to go overseas this year and next year I think radio employers are actually getting to the stage where they are struggling to find people.”

'I've never seen anything like it in my 13 years of working in the industry.”

Hamish says currently, the plan is for the school to go ‘inactive' for six months, to see if the school can run again next year, although he is unsure if the school will ever be able to reopen.

'It's not looking very likely. The staff have been here a long time and I think it will be hard to replace them.”

The school is going to have a final graduation ceremony on Friday June 10. Hamish says the school is inviting industry guests that have contributed over the years, and the night will officially mark the end for the NZ School of Radio.