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April 04, 2022
Distance learning keeps kura kids engaged
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira
Posted On April 4, 2022
Download AudioA Māori educator says tauira Māori in kura kaupapa fared better through the pandemic than their mainstream counterparts.
Ministry of Education figures show a sharp drop in school attendance last month, with a quarter-million not showing up on March 11.
Rawiri Wright, the co-chair of Te Rūnanganui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa, says Māori medium schools put in place strong distance learning early in the pandemic which keeps students engaged even when at home.
That’s given them the flexibility to close classrooms at critical times.
“In situations like that, students are considered to still present because they are still working from home. There was a little bit of a dip in our overall NCEA results last year, but that was seen throughout the motu and was not as much as the drop for Māori kids in particular in mainstream schools,” Mr Wright says.
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