November 19, 2012
Te Kotahitanga education under threat
The developer of a programme for improving the way Māori and Pasifika students are taught in mainstream schools says its future is uncertain.
Russell Bishop, the professor of Māori education at Waikato University, says negotiations started with the Education Ministry in January about further funding for Te Kotahitanga, and there is still no certainty beyond next year.
He says the Government is yet to present a credible alternative for improving outcomes for the 20 percent of students who are struggling in the existing system.
"Changing structures such as bringing in partnership schools or bringing in the other policies they are talking about have never really worked internationally. They may give other options of schooling but they don't actually bring about what the National Party and the minister is quite correctly identifying, that one of the major keys to improving achievement is improving the quality of teaching," Professor Bishop says.
Te Kotahitanga schools report major increases in NCEA pass rates by not just their Māori students but all students.
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