August 16, 2018
Te reo teacher gap exposed
Te reo teacher gap exposed
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the issues raised by yesterday's teachers' strike highlights the challenges faced by the Government to deliver on its promises in areas like Māori language teaching.
Ms Ardern fronted up to the teachers rallying at parliament, reminding them the offer on the table was twice the number offered by National, but also acknowleding the need for improvement on teacher numbers, non-contact time, and professional development.
Te reo Māori is another area that has been neglected.
"Making sure we have enough teachers proficient in te reo Māori and able to teach the language is a real challenge for us so we have looked at investing more in scholarships and other ways to try and attract more te reo Māori teachers into the profession but we also have to make sure it is an attractive job overall. That is what a lot of the discussion we are having with teachers now is about," Ms Ardern says.
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