Quality of $70m course under fire

A course for new immigrants, which has cost taxpayers $70 million over three years, looks set to attract more funding - despite requiring students to do little more than a series of comprehension tests.

Kiwi Ora, which aims to help new immigrants adapt to New Zealand life, is run by a company owned by Susan Cullen, daughter of Te Wananga o Aotearoa head Rongo Wetere. It is funded by the Ministry of Education through the wananga, which takes 18 per cent as its fee.

It is one of the courses which has attracted Government and Auditor-General attention in a check for conflicts of interest at the institution.

Question marks now hang over its educational value, with one English student who spoke to the Herald describing it as "all style, no substance".

The Tertiary Education Commission, which approves courses for funding, said last night no decision had been made on future funding for Kiwi Ora.

But review papers written by the commission and obtained by the Herald show it believes there is "sufficient evidence that the programme has outcomes that enhance its graduates' ability to participate in the social, political and/or cultural life of their communities".

National Education spokesman Bill English agreed the course had some value.

"But what the Government is paying for is a full-blown tertiary course at a university for what is a basic, level-one education."

Kiwi Ora was introduced in 2003 and, while classified as a "local qualification", was approved by the wananga board.

After concerns about an explosion in community education funding, fuelled by blowouts which included millions of dollars spent on courses including twilight golf and Maori sing-a-long, the Government announced a clampdown. Programmes would have to meet stricter criteria to ensure they were relevant and of high quality.

Mrs Cullen said there had been a succession of audits, reviews and critiques since 2003 and said the course was "hugely constructive".

More than 25,000 people have completed Kiwi Ora, at a cost to the taxpayer of about $2800 each.

The company website is littered with glowing testimonials. But students who spoke to the Herald argued that was "because of all the free stuff".

A South African woman, who did not want to be named, said it was "a bit of a waste of time".

The basic premise was to read, watch or listen, then answer questions on what you had just seen, she said.

"That's not what you expect from a university course."

Mrs Cullen said only about 10 per cent of students weren't satisfied and complained about the course, which boasted a 94 per cent pass rate.

"There's nothing like this in New Zealand. It bridges social and educational needs," she said.

Mr English said that did not justify $56 million going to Mrs Cullen's company, Ora Ltd, and $14 million to the wananga.

"When the money is there, there's an incentive to enrol every warm body. The [TEC] review has done nothing and if the Government does not cut the funding, it will continue to pay tens of millions of dollars to courses like this."

Colin Webb, TEC deputy chief executive, said there were concerns regarding the quality and relevance of Kiwi Ora, "particularly given its large-scale operation".

"TEC is working with Te Wananga o Aotearoa to resolve these," he said.


Kiwi Ora

What is it?
* A home-based education programme about New Zealand for new immigrants.
* Students get videos, audio tapes, books and CDs and answer questions about New Zealand life.

The cost
* The Ministry of Education has spent $70 million on Kiwi Ora. $56 million has gone to the company which runs it and $14 million to Te Wananga o Aotearoa.

Who benefits?
* New immigrants do the course for free. About 25,000 have completed it since 2003.