March 21, 2023
Māori teachers want more in pay talks
The principal of a south Auckland kura kaupapa says the skills Māori teachers bring to the job need to be better recognised in their pay packets.
Maahia Nathan from Te Wharekura o Manurewa welcomed the acknowledgement from Education Minister Jan Tinetti of the value Māori teachers brought to her previous Tauranga school.
He says kura teachers work under Te Aho Matua, a philosophy of how they teach, what they teach and in some cases a way of life.
“As Kaiako, as tumuaki we have a responsibility as a kura kaupapa and wharekura to make sure the Maori view of the world is at least at the same level or perhaps has priority in terms of how we run our kura and how we view our children and how we operate as a kura kuapapa or a wharekura,” Mr Nathan says.
While kaiako are mostly not driven by money, more needs to be on offer not only to recruit Maori-speaking teachers but to retain those who are actively being recruited by government agencies.