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A far north Kura Kaupapa Maori principal says the Education Ministry is bullying Maori immersion schools to cluster with nearby mainstream schools rather than form their own region-wide roopu.
Hilda Halkyard-Harawira from Te Rangi Aniwaniwa in Awanui says the ministry has ignored an application from the nine Tai Tokerau Kura Kaupapa, Maori despite saying the funding for the new communities of learning policy was open to all schools.
She says the kura have been told unless they join with local clusters they will miss out on professional development opportunities and funding in 2017.
"We didn’t mind that we didn't get a COL but we are bothered by the veiled korero that 'if you don't join those COLs, the local ones, you will probably miss out on professional development,' so that is quite assertive bullying actually," Mrs Halkyard-Harawira says.
She says the nine kura will continue to work together on issues of unique concern to them such as iwi tikanga and reo, but they are missing out on resources and support offered to mainstream schools.
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