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Education Minister Hekia Parata says the education system alone can’t guarantee the next generation of Maori speakers.
The Government is currently considering Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples’s plan to put iwi in charge of Maori language strategy.
The plan focuses on the tens of millions of dollars going into agencies like Te Mangai Paho and Te Tura Whiri, rather than the hundreds of millions in the education sector.
Ms Parata says as someone who raised her own daughters to speak Maori, she knows the commitment it takes.
"I think the responsibility is equally shared by us as parents and whanau, that if we want our kids to be good reo speakers, then it can’t just be confined to the school and school hours, we too must be speakers of our language if we want our language to flourish so yes the education system is doing its part and can do better and will do better but so must we as parents, as whanau, as hapu and iwi," she says.
Hekia Parata says it’s the Maori language, not the Education Ministry’s language.
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