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Iwi education advocates want to see more investment in teaching te reo Māori.
Ngā Kaikokiri Matauranga, the iwi education authority that works with the iwi chairs forum, held a hui in Auckland today to set priorities and discuss progress with officials from the Education Ministry and other Crown agencies.
Member, Terry Smith, from Kaeo says while the statistics appear to show improvements in the number of Māori speakers, it doesn’t appear that way at marae level.
"People living on the ground at marae level see a deterioration of te reo on the marae and in our whare. Te reo makes a difference not just in terms of being able to speak but in terms of educational outcomes, and if one looks at kohanga and kura, they are outperforming English-medium schools in terms of producing education results, and we say if that is the case, we need to be investing in te reo," he says.
Education Minister, Hekia Parata, spoke to the hui, but she ordered out media and delivered her remarks in secret.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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