October 15, 2019
MIT cuts will hurt Māori learners
The Tertiary Education Union says cuts at the Manukau Institute of Technology will harm Māori, Pasifika and low-income learners.
The South Auckland polytech is slashing courses in creative arts, horticulture and tourism.
The union’s Māori vice president, Huhana Watene, says those courses have high numbers of Māori and Pasifika students.
She has written to the Minister of Education that the aspirations in the new Tertiary Education Strategy of boosting achievement of Māori and Pasifika are ringing hollow for staff in the polytechnic sector.
She says a culturally responsive tertiary education system is reliant on having a broad range of courses, including Māori tourism courses and creative arts courses which helps build the cultural identity and confidence of learners.
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