A Milton-based training scheme has been cleared of virtually all serious allegations laid against it by former tutors, but slack book-keeping records means it must pay back about $20,000 in overpayments the Government says it received.
Tokomairiro Training was investigated by its funder, the Tertiary Education Commission (Tec), after former tutor Brian Crawford claimed tutors at the centre physically and verbally abused young trainees.
He also cited allegations of financial mismanagement.
But Tec yesterday confirmed its four-month investigation uncovered no evidence of deliberate fraud.
It did not comment on the allegations of abuse, which suggests these are matters in the past and cannot be revisited unless formal complaints are laid with police.
The Tokomairiro High School board of trustees, which administers the training scheme, last week met Tec officials to discuss the report.
Its contents are not expected to be released publicly.
Board chairwoman Lynn Lindsay said she welcomed the report and was looking forward to continuing to work with Tec towards improving the board's overall performance. .
She declined to comment further as the school was still involved in employment court hearings with another former tutor.
But Mr Crawford was far from happy, calling the report's findings "disgusting", and he vowed to continue his fight against the scheme.
"I've put my health and my livelihood on the line for this.I'm just totally crushed by the findings but I'm not really surprised. I have put so much into this, I can't just walk away," he said when contacted.
He planned to take the matter up with Ministry of Education officials and others in the new year.
Mr Crawford, who had filed a personal grievance claim with the Employment Court against the school, withdrew that action to speak publicly about his concerns.
He was backed by at least six trainees and two tutors, one of whom is scheduled to have a hearing early next year.
In a statement sent to the Otago Daily Times, Tec said while there was no evidence of any "deliberate fraud", it found poor attendance records, "specifically with regard to withdrawal practices, led to the training centre receiving overpayments of approximately $20,000".
"We will be reclaiming the overpayments."
As a consequence, Tec will conduct a regular series of monitoring visits next year.
These will focus on attendance records, trainee achievements and resourcing for the centre.
But essentially Tec appeared to back the work the centre was doing.
"Tokomairiro Training centre has typically either met or exceeded the agreed outcomes for learners in both youth training and training opportunities programmes.
With new governance in place and regular monitoring from Tec, Tokomairiro Training now has every opportunity to improve the performance and operation of the centre and continue to meet the needs of learners in their community."
