Complaints lodged against lecturer Paul’e Ruwhiu for ‘exclusionary’ practices

The noho marae experience is one of lecturer Paul’e Ruwhiu's courses. Photo / Massey University 

Multiple formal complaints have been made against Social Work lecturer Paul’e Ruwhiu — one student going so far as to report her to the Social Workers Registration Board.  

Students say they feel excluded for their disabilities, or unpraised if they were not Māori or Pasifika.  

However, in emails from the tutor seen by Massive, she makes it clear her course is “not structured like a mainstream Western paper and nor should it be, nor should we apologise for that”.  

Ruwhiu teaches courses on Social Work and Māori development across both the Auckland and Palmerston North campuses, as well as distance.  

Alumni Tracey Wallace-Hutchins made a formal complaint about Ruwhiu in 2021, and after more recently learning that other students had raised similar concerns, she reported Ruwhiu’s conduct to the Social Workers Registration Board.  

“Oddly one common feature I observed was that all students I was aware of were students with disabilities.”  

Their first encounter happened in 2021 when Wallace-Hutchins travelled from the Bay of Plenty to Manawatū to attend the teacher's course in person, as she was recommended to go to connect with peers.  

Wallace-Hutchins is a mobility scooter user and visually impaired, as well as neurodivergent, requiring additional access needs for course related events.  

At the course, Wallace-Hutchins said she began the morning session with introductions, but by lunchtime, claimed she was told to leave by Ruwhiu, and not return for the afternoon session, or the next day. She said the experience made her feel as though she didn't belong. 

In emails seen by Massive following this, Ruwhiu explained to Wallace-Hutchins why she had told her to go home.  

The lecturer wrote: “Firstly, I noticed when you stood up to introduce yourself at the contact course, it was very deficit focused and I wondered if you needed to have time and space to work out some of the challenges you brought up. I also noticed your pronunciation of whānau as “far now” which indicates to me that you may not be in a space of knowledge about Tangata Whenua as I first thought.” 

After the email, a Zoom call took place to discuss. However, Wallace-Hutchins found the call confrontational. 

Wallace-Hutchins said, “That escalated into a Zoom where she just totally berated me … I’m not super emotional, but she brought me to tears and was really on an attack.”  

Due to her experiences with Ruwhiu, she was excused from attending noho marae (an overnight marae stay) required for social worker registration.  

Wallace-Hutchins lodged official complaints to Massey, but felt unsatisfied with the university’s response, “They essentially brushed my complaints under the carpet.”  

Head of the School of Social Work, professor Kieran O’Donoghue said the university takes all students concerns seriously and is committed to providing an inclusive learning environment.  

He could not comment on individual staff matters or complaints for privacy reasons, “However, we want to assure you that any concerns raised by students are reviewed carefully through our established internal processes, which are guided by our policies and relevant procedures.” 

“If a student remains dissatisfied with the outcome of a previously addressed concern they are encouraged to re-engage with the university”. 

Current student Anna* claimed they were met with confrontation from Ruwhiu after posting questions about assignment tasks and tutor communication on the Distance@Massey Facebook page.  

Anna received a phone call a few hours later from Ruwhiu, in which she was “yelling down the phone at me telling me I have no right to use the distance platform to ask questions about her teaching, and if I had any questions, I should have come to her directly”.  

Anna said the approach made her extremely uncomfortable to finish the paper. 

Anna believed the lecturer gave high praise to students who were Māori and Pasifika, and very little praise or concernment to anyone else.  

“She repeatedly criticised me and others for our pronunciation of Māori kupu and told us ‘If we can’t get it right the first time we shouldn’t even try as it is offensive’.” 

“I felt extremely offended by this because I have a strong accent myself and was doing the best I could with the teaching I was given and genuinely was trying my best.”  

Anna did not make a formal complaint, but said she wished she had, understanding that others in her class did. 

Student Alex*, who is disabled and neurodivergent, found course material contradictory and unclear.  

Alex said they were not unsettled by challenging material, however, “Without advance information or reasonable accommodations, I couldn’t prepare myself to participate safely and equitably.”  

Alex raised these issues with Ruwhiu, but felt disrespected. “The tone of emails carried assumptions about who I was, what I had experienced, and what support I might need. That felt dismissive and left me feeling that my identity as a disabled and neurodivergent student wasn’t being respected.” 

A 2023 email from Ruwhiu, seen by Massive, showed her explanation for the course content structure. 

“At the noho marae we do not let you know much of the content we teach until the time is right and so while I take onboard your disability, we will not be changing how we approach this learning but would like to know from you what supports you will have in place to navigate this course,” she wrote. 

“We are presenting some big topics over the next four weeks that do make students feel uncomfortable because that is what we want you to feel. It demonstrates the uncomfortability our people feel every day of their lives when navigating and engaging in Western systems. Again, we are not apologising for that,” the email continued.  

Alex said they raised their concerns with Disability Services and the deputy head of school, who said Ruwhiu would undergo additional training to mitigate those issues in the future. However, “their hands were tied in terms of actually facilitating equitable access to the paper”.  

Alex felt this didn’t align with Massey’s stated values of inclusion and accessibility, leaving them questioning whether the needs of disabled students were being take seriously.  

Due to the inaccessibility of the course, Alex said they changed their entire programme, re-enrolling in the same paper at a different campus, reshuffling courses, and seeking special permission to adjust their pathway.  

Alex proceeded to make a post expressing their concerns in the Massey@Distance Facebook group — without mentioning the name of the tutor. Several private messages rolled in, naming Ruwhiu.  

Discussion around the noho marae experience, one of the courses Ruwhiu teaches, resurfaced last week on the Distance@Massey Facebook group, where students shared a mix of reactions to the same paper. 

Some described the experience as “powerful” and “valuable learning” for understanding tangata whenua perspectives, while others said it felt “unsafe” and “not a supportive or safe environment at all”.  

Several commenters noted that students were encouraged to share deeply personal reflections, which some described as “a giant trauma dump”. Others defended the course, saying discomfort was part of the intended learning process, and to enter the experience with an open mind.  

Ruwhiu was approached for comment multiple times, however, did not provide a response.