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February 09, 2022
New path sought for Māori medium education
Adam Gifford
Posted On February 9, 2022
Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis is pushing ahead with a revamp of the Māori medium and kaupapa Māori education programme despite a boycott by the main sector organisations.
Mr Davis has criticised Te Rūnanganui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori for lodging a Waitangi Tribunal claim rather than taking part in the reform process.
He says seats have been left open on Te Pae Roa, the independent Māori education group set up to oversee the process, for Te Rūnanganui, Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, Ngā Kura-ā-Iwi and Te Tauihu o Ngā Wānanga.
Te Pae Roa is chaired by former Taura Whiri chair Wayne Ngata and includes Moe Milne, Jason Ake, Miriama Prentice and Rāhui Papa.
Mr Davis says the aim is to introduce legislation in early 2023 to provide a regulatory framework for growing the sector, with the aim of having 30 per cent of Māori learners participating in kaupapa Māori or Māori medium education by 2040.
He says the current kaupapa Maori pathway exists in an education system that was not built for it, and cannot fully deliver on the aspirations Māori hold.
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