February 24, 2014
Maori character school welcomed
Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell is welcoming approval of a new Maori-oriented special character school in Christchurch.
Te Pa o Rakaihautu will open next year at the site of Richmond School, which closed at the end of last year.
It will offer a curriculum founded on tikanga and Te Reo Maori, Te Ao Maori values, culture and history.
Mr Flavell says he expects that like kura kaupapa Maori, Te Pa o Rakaihautu will attract parents who are willing to make a commitment to the school and what it offers.
"In some cases parents have got to go long distances to get their kids to a place they believe will work in the best interests of their tamariki. Now if they are prepared to do that and they’ve given a lot of thought to it, we should let it go and not be so restrictive in our thinking as to think the local high school is always going to deliver for our kids. Clearly it hasn’t in the past and I think we’ve got to be a lot more open about how we take up education opportunities," he says.
Te Pa o Rakaihautu will start for years 1 to 10 students, moving up to year 13 in subsequent years.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd