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A new report on the impact of the country’s three wananga has concluded they are spending almost half a billion dollars a year on goods and services, contributing more than $300 million to gross domestic product, and providing almost 3000 jobs.
Wananga Ringahora by Ganesh Nana and a term from BERL economists concludes that is a significant employer in the communities where their main campuses are located, which are in smaller towns rather than the big cities.
They are also giving people access to education opportunities they would not otherwise have had, with about 35 percent of the 40,000 students who enrolled in 2012 having no secondary school qualification before beginning their study.
Professor Graham Smith, the head of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi in Whakatane, says it shows the value of the Maori tertiary institutions.
" We’re contributing significant dollars to local economies. We're making a huge difference to the overall statistics in the access participation in success of Maori in the system. You take out 40 odd thousand students from the sector the New Zealand response to Maori looks pretty thin " he says.
Professor Graham Smith says all tertiary institutions and not just Maori should be trying to offer excellent service to Maori.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR GRAHAM SMITH CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MTkyMzY=
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