Te Kawa Maiorooro Te Pūkenga

Educational Regulatory Framework

Te Kawa Maiororo Te Pūkenga Educational Regulatory Framework will ensure the integrity and quality of teaching, learning and assessment throughout Te Pūkenga network to enable our learners to achieve.

Hands weaving flax into a small kete

Te Kawa Maiorooro, Te Pūkenga Educational Regulatory Framework, sets out the overarching regulations that apply to learning and delivery at Te Pūkenga. This includes teaching, assessment, rangahau and research, and support activities.

Te Poari Akoranga (Te Pūkenga Academic Board) approved the framework on 16 November 2022, and it will come into effect as the governing regulations on 1 January 2023.

This iteration of Te Kawa Maiorooro is appropriate to where we are in our transformation journey. The former Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics and former Industry Training Organisations are business divisions of Te Pūkenga. 

A Grandparenting Policy has been adopted to support us through this transition. This means that the regulations, policies, and procedures of the business divisions continue to apply unless there is a national regulation or policy in place.

Te Kawa Maiorooro is the national governing educational regulatory framework. That means all business divisions are required to follow the Framework. Where a specific situation is not addressed within the national framework, the relevant business division policy or process will apply.

The naming of Te Kawa Maiorooro

The name Te Kawa Maiorooro was created by Te Pūkenga Ohu Reo Me Ngā Tikanga.

  • Kawa are the formal customs that guide protocols on the marae. Therefore, if Te Pūkenga is the marae for kaimahi and ākonga, then the kawa provide the framework – principles, policies, regulations – that guides all interactions.  
  • Maiorooro refers to the outer earthworks of a fortified pā. These were erected to shelter all who dwelt within the village from harm. These earthworks give people assurance, peace of mind and certainty.

Kawa Maiorooro is also a type of karakia performed for ākonga to provide protection over them in a state of learning.

Our Foundation

Te Kawa Maiorooro reflects the intention of Te Pūkenga Te Tiriti Excellence Framework, Te Pae Tawhiti. The five goals and two objectives of Te Pae Tawhiti are explicitly inherent and integrated in the framework.

Te Kawa Maiorooro is underpinned by Ngā Mātāpono, four principles that ensure the framework meets its purpose, and guided by Ngā Uara, Te Pūkenga values, that define what we believe and how we behave. 

Together, Te Pae Tawhiti, Ngā Mātāpono, and Ngā Uara guide our decisions and actions and ensure a regulatory framework that is inclusive, equitable, and fair.