Next month, the University of Auckland Council will consider making the “Waipapa Taumata Rau” (WTR) papers optional—a step I’ve been calling for over many months.
I’ve consistently warned that forcing this paper on all undergraduate students as a compulsory requirement undermines choice and damages the University of Auckland’s reputation both locally and internationally.
This year alone, thousands of first-year undergraduates and international students have been required to take a WTR paper covering the Treaty of Waitangi, tikanga Māori, and related knowledge systems. Domestic students are billed about $1,000 each, while international students pay as much as $5,730. Counting taxpayer funding, that’s an estimated $28 million bill for courses many students neither wanted nor valued.
The WTR courses teach a “partnership” interpretation of the Treaty, in a way that students have criticised as politically one-sided. The courses also teach indigenous “knowledge systems” and “knowledge of place” tailored to each discipline. In practice, students are expected to affirm a specific view of history and culture, not to question or challenge the material.
Of course, the meaning of the Treaty, and whether tikanga belongs in science, business, or engineering, are questions fiercely debated even among scholars. A university should let different ideas compete, not present one story as unquestionable truth to students who will not have the opportunity to scrutinise the issues more deeply.
The costs of the courses are not just financial. Students say they have to change their study plans, drop preferred electives, or delay required courses just to fit in a WTR paper. Some end up taking heavier workloads later or paying for an extra semester. These knock-on effects pile on stress and cost.
Even more concerning, students report feeling pressured to echo approved perspectives in graded reflections to avoid losing marks. This risks turning education into a performance: instead of thinking critically, they play along.
The courses threaten the University’s international reputation. We need to attract international students who pay full fees, effectively subsidising education for local students. But at Auckland, we are asking them to pay thousands of dollars to study local knowledge systems that will have zero relevance to their careers abroad. It hurts our image as a serious place to study.
Leading universities overseas take a different approach. The University of Toronto, for example, has increased Indigenous content and offers related electives, but it does not force each undergraduate to take a mandatory course. That respect for academic freedom and student choice hasn’t stopped Toronto from maintaining its global reputation, and it shows you don’t have to force students to get them interested.
The University Senate’s recent suggestion to make WTR optional shows that forcing it hasn’t worked. If learning about the Treaty and Māori knowledge truly enriches future doctors, engineers, and scientists, students will choose it themselves. If they don’t, the University should accept that the courses aren’t delivering what their defenders claim.
New Zealand’s universities earned their global reputation, through high standards and open thinking. If they keep putting ideology ahead of honest debate, they risk becoming small-minded institutions that top students—local or international—will avoid.
The University of Auckland can change direction—starting with a simple test: make these courses optional and see how many students actually choose them. If these courses are really worth it, students will pick them. If they don’t, at least families won’t be forced to pay thousands for classes nobody wants. -Dr Parmjeet Parmar is ACT’s spokesperson for Tertiary Education.