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A supplier of professional development services to teachers and principals says the ramping up of Te Ahu o te Reo Māori shows the Government is gearing up to eventually make te reo Māori a compulsory subject.
After being run as a trial in four areas over the past two years, the programme will be rolled out nationwide next year with 10,000 places available for teachers, leaders and support staff who wish to strengthen their use of te reo Māori.
Whetu Cormick says it’s an acknowledgement of the size of the task if the language is to be taught in every school.
"750,000 young people go to Kura or go to schools. That is a great number of students to find competent fluent te reo Maori teachers who can teach te reo. It's all very well knowing te reo, You also have to teach the curriculum and teach the language. So there are three parts to this. What I think is they are readying the profession for this," he says.
Mr Cormick says while Te Ahu o te Reo Māori is pitched as voluntary, the Teaching Council’s code and standards are clear that teachers have to have a commitment and understanding to putting in place the Treaty of Waitangi and also have to start using te reo Maori in their everyday programme.
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