April 19, 2023
System fails to deliver teachers with reo
A staunch advocate of education in the Māori language says it’s long past time for a specialist Māori teachers’ college.
Te Runanga o ngā Kura Kaupapa o Aotearoa chair Rawiri Wright says a nationwide relief-teacher shortage is hitting Maori-medium schools the hardest – with almost every kura struggling to cover classrooms.
He says for 20 years his runanga has pleaded for a centre training Maori teachers who can teach or relieve at any school.
“The point of difference would be that we would be matauranga-Maori focused. They would have the ability to teach anywhere. But there are just not the numbers coming out of the established providers, at the moment, to fill any of the gaps with any certainty,” Mr Wright says.
He says a minimum of 300 reo speaking teachers are needed every year, but barely 50 are graduating.