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The chief executive of Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, Barbara George, says she feels absolutely gutted by the school’s kapa haka debacle.
The polytech repaid the Tertiary Education Commission $3.7 million after investigations revealed the Maori Performing Arts programme had given students qualifications without delivering the required number of teaching hours.
Ms George says not all cohorts were involved, but the extent of the problems uncovered so far has undermined the confidence in the whole programme.
She says it was a double failure of those running the programme and those overseeing it, and normal WITT policies and procedures were not followed.
Six Maori department staff including department head Tengaruru Wineera resigned once the extent of the problem was revealed.
All qualifications for the level 6 tutoring programme awarded from 2009 to 2013 were cancelled, along with some of the level 4 performance diplomas.
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