MIT repaid the funding to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) after an investigation confirmed many of the students on EnterpriseMIT’s Certificate in Finfish already had significant training in the industry before enrolling in the course.

TEC chief executive Tim Fowler says it was a complex 18-month investigation and the TEC is pleased to be able to release its findings so people can have confidence that tertiary education funding is being used well.

“The investigation and repayment is a strong signal that when the TEC invests in learning, providers of that learning need to work with their students to ensure they’re getting the training they need.

“We appreciate the Manukau Institute of Technology’s co-operation throughout this investigation and we note that the issue arose through a former subsidiary, which it has now closed.”

The Certificate in Finfish was mainly taken by employees of pet stores, many of whom already had experience in working with fish.

As well as the issue with recognising prior learning, the TEC investigation found significant concerns around EnterpriseMIT administrative practices, accuracy of record keeping and the number of hours students spent on their courses.

“We advised MIT to refer concerns to police about irregularities in student enrolment forms, particularly those involving the possibility former staff completed and signed student forms themselves,” says Mr Fowler.

“The TEC invests approximately $2.9 billion in tertiary education every year. We have high expectations of the organisations we fund and regularly monitor their performance.”

The TEC’s investigation is now complete and the report from Deloitte is available on the TEC website.