May 10, 2015
Wananga filling critical gap
One of the people who contributed to the growth of the largest Maori tertiary institution says Te Wananga o Aotearoa has shaken up education establishment.
Susan Cullen, the daughter of wananga founder Rongo Wetere, developed some of its most innovative courses.
The wananga is celebrating its 30th birthday, and she prepared a brief history.
Ms Cullen says the rapid growth of the wananga in the early 2000s from 1000 students to over 10,000 was a sign that the mainstream universities and polytechnics weren’t meeting the needs of a huge group of people who wanted a tertiary education.
"I was taught at university that Maori were called reluctant learners. I just thought this was such a ridiculous perception to have about our people when wananga proved how much our people aspired to wanting to educate and learn and grow themselves and grow their professions. Wananga have moved in and taken that place and has succeeded in staying there. Its a remarkable historical story"says Susan Cullen.
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