March 29, 2023
New legal framework for wananga
Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis says Māori tertiary providers will gain increased flexibility and autonomy under the new Education and Training Amendment Bill.
The bill, which had its first reading today, proposes a new enabling framework for the three current wānanga – Raukawa, Aotearoa, and Awanuiārangi, as well as any future wānanga.
Minister Davis says the current Education and Training Act does not reflect the unique role and contributions wānanga play in the education system with their ‘for Māori by Māori’ approach .
The Bill introduces a set of characteristics for wānanga articulating that unique role and also brings in a process enabling wānanga to become a bespoke Crown entity or convert to a non-Crown entity wānanga.
He says the framework was co-designed with the wānanga.
The Bill also separates the establishment provisions for kura kaupapa Māori from those of designated character schools in the Act, restoring the pre-2017 position of kura as a distinct type of state school.
Additionally, the Regulatory Systems (Education) Amendment Bill, introduced into Parliament at the same time, will help ensure that the Māori Battalion legacy continues.
It proposes significant changes to the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Act 1945. The Ngarimu Board will be recognised as the successor to the 28th Māori Battalion (NZ) Association and there will be a new Māori representative position on the Board.