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Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis has welcomed the first group of teachers studying to improve their te reo Māori through the Te Ahu o te Reo Māori initiative.
The 17 week programme has attracted 685 people, including the 158 learners from Kapiti-Horowhenua who started in Ōtaki yesterday.
He says it's part of the goal to integrate te reo Māori into education in early learning and schools by 2025 and to make the use of te reo Māori in the classroom normal and widespread.
That means strengthening the education workforce to use it correctly.
"It goes towards our broader goals of a million reo speakers by 2040. It's the normalisation of te reo Māori , so I would like to congratulate all the kaiako who have taken up this opportunity, in mainstream schools mainly. It's fantastic," Mr Davis says.
As well as Kapiti-Horowhenua, this year Te Ahu o te Reo Māori is being trialled in Waikato, Taranaki, and Ngāi Tahu in the South Island, with different learning approaches being used, including online self-directed learning, face-to-face weekly classes, and noho and wānanga.
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