Impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on Maori university students

This report from Te Mana Akonga (TMA - National Maori Tertiary Students' Association) details the educational and wellbeing impacts of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 lockdown on Maori university students. The report draws on the results of a survey that was rolled out nationally to Maori students at each of the eight universities of Aotearoa [New Zealand]. It identifies a number of impacts that the lockdown had on students, however, it is believed that this is just the tip of the iceberg and there are many more challenges that Maori students face every day. Financial struggles were a key theme with more than half reporting increased financial stress. One in 5 students reported having dependents who relied on them financially, and more than a third agreed that lockdown had made it more difficult to afford essential bills. Online learning also proved challenging. One in 4 students did not have access to strong, reliable WiFi or internet for online learning. Fifty-five per cent of students reported their experience of online learning to be negative and nearly three-quarters of students reported the overall impact on their education had been negative. The lockdown also took its toll emotionally with 52 per cent of students reporting they felt more sad than before lockdown, 76 per cent more anxious, and 84 per cent feeling worried about their academic progress. Fifty-two per cent indicated they did not feel valued as a student by their institution. Mental health was an area of significant concern and many students shared personal experiences of how this had been impacted in the survey. The report includes strong recommendations on how the government and universities can better support and enable Maori students both post-COVID and in the future, with clear expectations that students are involved in all aspects of action.