October 21, 2021
Schools’ reopening widens education divide
A Māori education consultant is picking classrooms in the leafy suburbs will be full when secondary schools reopen next week for year 11 to 13 students – but not the ones in low decile South Auckland schools.
Former Principals’ Federation president Whetu Cormick says the reopening to allow senior students to prepare for NCEA exams will cause anxiety in many Māori and Pasifika households which have been affected by Covid-19.
Others are struggling to make ends meet in the lockdowns, and older children may stay at home to look after younger siblings while their parents work.
He says the pandemic has heightened the inequities built into the education system for Māori, rather than being used as an opportunity to rethink the delivery of education.
“What happened after that first lockdown is that many of our teachers wanted to get back to normal. The normal is delivering an education system for the majority, and that is Pākehā students,” Mr Cormick says.