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A veteran Maori educationalist has welcomed the Green's plan to make te reo Maori a core subject, but says it could take up to 15 years to achieve.
Pem Bird, who went back to run a kura kaupapa in Murupara after teaching for many years at the Auckland College of Education, says it's right that the country's indigenous language is given equal status to subjects like English and maths.
He says the challenge is building teaching capacity, and he would recommend three five-year plans to provide professional development to existing teachers, and changes in the university-based teaching courses.
"It would take that time to actually get it through all schools in Aotearoa so the first part is existing teachers, then training teachers. Alongside that is a huge PR strategy to educate the general public about the new reo strategy," Mr Bird says
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