Wananga students demand inquiry

By LOUISA CLEAVE

Students who paid Te Wananga o Aotearoa $2000 to prepare them for police recruitment want the Government to investigate the education provider for alleged incompetence and lying about the course.

The wananga, New Zealand's biggest tertiary education provider, markets the Certificate in Preparation for Police Recruitment as "developed in consultation with the New Zealand Police National Recruitment Office".

But police national headquarters say they were never consulted.

Police also said a trip to the police training college - which the wananga had told students would be a "highlight" of the 18-week course - had never been arranged.

Students said the visit was cancelled at short notice without explanation.

"No pre-entry recruitment courses are endorsed by New Zealand Police, nor are invitations extended to institutions that run such courses, to enable them to visit the Royal New Zealand Police College," a police spokeswoman said.

The Qualifications Authority has received two complaints about the course.

It cleared the wananga over a complaint last June and has since received a second complaint, from student Hinemoa Nikora.

Ms Nikora was one of 13 students on last year's course at Manukau and among the majority who took out student loans to cover the $2000 cost.

The 51-year-old hoped the course would help her to fulfil a dream of becoming a police officer.

Now she has asked Associate Education Minister Steve Maharey for a full inquiry on behalf of all students.

A spokesman for the minister said the Qualifications Authority would investigate.

Act MP Rodney Hide called for Mr Maharey to restore the students' faith in the education system by refunding their fees and investigating the wananga.

Students had been "robbed financially and robbed of their hopes and aspirations", Mr Hide said.

"They were given an expectation that was not met and so here are students who want to make a go of their lives and instead of respecting and honouring that commitment, they have been trashed.

"We have to make sure that the courses the Government is funding are up to scratch, and in this case it clearly isn't."

The Weekend Herald has documents that highlight major failures in last year's course at Manukau, including:

* Poor tutoring standards and concerns that head tutor Steve Ohlson - a qualified car painter and security officer - had no police experience.

* Students left for hours unattended.

* Class hours cut short and tutors sometimes failing to turn up at all.

* A literacy tutor who was difficult to understand and set work above students' learning capacity.

* Failure to provide a complete uniform and text books, which were found months later in a storeroom.

* The cancelled trip to Police College. The wananga later passed students on the visit.

Ms Nikora said most of the students left before the course ended last June with unit standards in many areas not completed.

Part-time tutor Kingi Ihaka wrote to campus deputy manager Charles Berryman in July about Ms Nikora's concerns.

Students felt Mr Ohlson was "grossly remiss" in his attitude, his lack of professionalism, "and certainly in his teaching capabilities".

"The proposed timetable given to the students is never adhered to - subjects and tutors are changed without prior warning to the students," Mr Ihaka said.

"In fact, [Ms Nikora] says this week they were told to be at the classroom - they waited several hours and still no tutor arrived."

The wananga withdrew Mr Ohlson from the police course and extended it another 18-weeks free of charge but only Ms Nikora and two other students returned.

When Mr Ihaka, who took over from Mr Ohlson, left in October he was not replaced and Ms Nikora took over the class.

Education Ministry figures show the wananga was paid $139,568.92 - or $232.61 per student - for the police preparation course in 2001.

It received a further $251,543.70 - or $2515.44 per student - for the course in 2002. The total paid last year was not available.

Te Wananga o Aotearoa Manukau campus director Bruce Birnie said he did not know how the course was set up and could not comment on claims that police had been consulted.

The Weekend Herald was unable to reach anyone at the wananga's head office for comment.

Mr Birnie said head office was trying to meet the students.

The Manukau campus is not offering the certificate this year.