The three wānanga all made surpluses last year and increased their enrolments, with one doing so by nearly 40 percent, annual reports show.
Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
The 2016 reports show the three Māori tertiary institutions had more than 25,000 full-time students between them last year.
The largest of the institutions, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, had 20,242 full-time equivalent students, 250 more than in 2015, and made a surplus of $2.6 million.
Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi, which is based in Whakatane with campuses in Auckland and Northland, recorded a $2.8m surplus last year.
Its annual report said the institution had 3252 full-time students in 2016, nearly 900 more than the previous year.
Acting chief executive Evie O'Brien said the growth was largely due to the launch of 19 new courses and a new campus in South Auckland, where enrolments leapt from 100 to 600 full-time students.
"Previously we were co-located at Unitec but we didn't have an identity and probably Point Chevalier is not the best area for a wānanga to be located," she said.
"So we moved to South Auckland - better location, better premises and a new programme suite - and we've seen a significant increase in enrolments."
Ms O'Brien said enrolments had increased in most of Awanuiarangi's programmes, but especially in new marae-based courses and a horticulture programme.
The smallest of the wānanga, Raukawa, which is based in Otaki, also grew, enrolling 1600 full-time equivalent students and making a surplus of $4.4m.