Wananga breaking the law and “lying to Maori”

Media Release 04 June 2012

Wananga breaking the law and “lying to Maori”

Awanuiarangi – a Maori tertiary provider headed by Maori academic Dr Graeme Smith – is being accused of breaking the law and deceiving its students.

“Awanuiarangi is calling itself an “indigenous university” when it is not a university at all”, says Ngapuhi leader David Rankin. He points out that for an educational institution to call itself a university when it is not recognised as such as a breach of the Education Act.

“I am not so concerned about this technicality. What really bothers me”, says Mr. Rankin “is that those Maori students graduating from Awanuirangi are being told they are graduating from a university and this is a lie. Awanuiarangi is selling a product claiming it has the stamp of a university on it when it doesn’t”.

Mr Rankin informed the Tertiary Education Minister, Steven Joyce, of Awanuiarangi’s breach of the Education Act on 11 May. On 29 May, the Minister’s staff wrote to Mr. Rankin confirming the matter is now being investigated.

Email to Steven Joyce, Tertiary Education Minister
11 May 2012
Tena koe Minister,

I am writing this letter to you out of a concern I have that a wananga – “Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi” – is calling itself a “university”, which is in breach of the provisions of section 162 of the Education Act (1989). Indeed, Awanuiarangi is specified as one of three wananga under the Act and is explicitly not a university.
However, on Awanuiarangi’s website:
http://www.wananga.ac.nz/about-us/Pages/Mihi.aspx
http://www.wananga.ac.nz/about-us/Pages/CEO%20Message.aspx
and on its printed material (such as enrolment forms):
http://www.wananga.ac.nz/Study@Awanuiarangi/Documents/2012_RETURNINGSTDS%20FORM.pdf
and in newspaper and radio advertisements, Awanuiarangi describes itself as an indigenous “university”.
The reason this is a concern is that by Awanuiarangi falsely calling itself a “University”, it is misleading our people into believing that they will be attending and graduating from a university when that is not the case legally.
You will no doubt be familiar with Unitec, which was similarly used the term “university” and was told to remove the word as it did not comply with the Act and amounted to false advertising. Awanuiarangi’s case is identical to this, and the same issues apply.
I would be grateful if you could investigate this matter, rectify Awanuiarangi’s misrepresentation, and make an announcement to that effect.
Noho ora mai,
David Rankin
Ngapuhi

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