April 12, 2022
Kaupapa education providers set on own path
Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis says its the right of every Māori child to learn in te reo Māori – but not necessarily through the main kaupapa Māori providers.
Those providers under the banner of Te Matakāhuki are meeting the Waitangi Tribunal today to discuss whether their claim could go to urgency or mediation.
Mr Davis says he offered them the chance to write the blueprint for their ideal system, but they want the chance to air 40 years of grievance before the tribunal.
He says they only want to focus on the less than 50 per cent of tamariki who go to kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa.
“It’s got to be about all children. I want to grow the number of children in kaupapa Māori education from the figure it is now to 30 per cent by 2040. That’s what I wanted them to design, how we’re going to do that and how we’re going to address all the implications that come up, such as the need for more Kaiako, the need for another 250 Kura, but they decided to go down the track they’re going down,” Mr Davis says.
He says because of the stand-off 18 months of work has been lost.