17 May 2002
Budget 2002
Whare wananga are to receive $1.25 million in new funding for projects to help them respond more effectively to economic
growth and social development needs, Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey and Associate
Education Minister Parekura Horomia announced today.
The funding comes from the Tertiary Education Strategic Change Fund established last year to provide one-off grants for
tertiary institutions to adapt to the changing tertiary education system. Public tertiary institutions were invited to
submit applications for funding from the Strategic Change Fund and the funds were allocated according to their share of
the overall student roll.
Allocations to whare wananga are:
- Te Whare Wananga O Awanuiarangi, 111,736;
- Te Wananga O Aotearoa, 935,645; and
- Te Wananga O Raukawa, 205,564.
The Ministers said that an additional $10 million is provided for in next week’s budget to ensure continuous improvement
in future years. A share of this funding will be available to tertiary organisations and others on a contestable basis.
“Maori need a more coordinated and coherent tertiary education sector, strongly linked with local industries and the
community. The funding announced today supports our whare wananga to achieve this goal.
“The tertiary education sector has been through a difficult decade of declining public investment and a single-minded
focus on student enrolments. The time has long since come to get some strategy back into the system.
“The use of technologies is important for Maori so students can catch the Knowledge Wave. Students also need to make the
best use of this technology and the SCF can support students to do so. The projects being funded by the Strategic Change
Fund will support wananga and other tertiary institutions in delivering that change.
“One project involves the development of a CD-Rom production unit at Te Wananga O Raukawa to support Marae Based
Studies. The unit will produce high quality video, internet and graphical content published on CD-Rom, with the eventual
aim of using CD-Roms as a strategic delivery platform for training and information material to students and staff.
“One of Te Wananga O Aotearoa’s projects will establish a collaborative agreement with another tertiary provider to
offer further opportunities for Maori to achieve Early Childhood Education qualifications. Other projects involve
researching and developing a programme targeting mature Maori to address literacy and numeracy needs, and developing a
programme using multi-media delivery to take Te Reo Maori into homes and workplaces throughout the country.
“Te Whare Wananga O Awanuiarangi has received funding for a project to assess how information technology can be best
used to benefit students and staff, and a collaboration project with Victoria University to provide greater access to IT
studies.
“By using technology and working collaboratively with other institutions, these types of projects help to open up
greater educational opportunities for Maori and achieve valuable efficiencies. Technology is key to providing access to
educational opportunities in the more remote areas of the country and ensuring more Maori are able to benefit from
learning through wananga,” Parekura Horomia said.
Steve Maharey said projects funded by the Strategic Change Fund will support the goals of New Zealand’s first Tertiary
Education Strategy, which was released earlier this week.
“These funding decisions demonstrate that the Government is prepared to back the Strategy with significant additional
funding,” Steve Maharey said.
Ends