December 11, 2019
Slow progress on Hato Tipene revival
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The group trying to reopen St Stephen’s school has put off its projected opening until 2022 or 23.
Spokesperson Joe Harawira says two years ago he set a 2020 start date as a way to get some action after years of the kaupapa drifting along.
That led to presentations in the traditional recruiting areas for the Māori boarding school which generated more than 300 expressions of interest from whānau keen to send their boys to such a school, and to winning support from the Queen Victoria and St Stephen’s Trust Board and the Anglican church.
Mr Harawira says the intention is to bring together the best of modern teaching methods in a Māori cultural environment.
"We are not looking at total immersion but that the Māori language will be a top priority within an education programme we are going to be offering," he says.
Joe Harawira says the current controversy at Te Aute College in Hawke’s Bay over bullying and falling rolls sounds like the same death spiral that affected St Stephen’s 20 years ago.
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