Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori is calling for genuine shared decision-making between Māori and the Crown after the Waitangi Tribunal found Treaty breaches in the Government’s national curriculum reforms.
Co-chair Dr Rawiri Wright says the findings should be used as an opportunity to rebuild trust and ensure mātauranga Māori, tuakiri Māori and tirohanga Māori help shape education from the beginning, rather than Māori being brought into the process after major decisions have already been made.
The Waitangi Tribunal’s Wai 3553 Stage Two, Part I report, released this month, found the Crown breached Treaty principles including partnership and active protection. It criticised the lack of meaningful engagement with Māori and found the Crown advanced its knowledge-rich curriculum approach without adequate evidence it would reduce inequities for Māori.
The Tribunal also found the reforms reduced the emphasis on te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori, while Te Rūnanga Nui says the distinct foundations of kaupapa Māori education, including Te Aho Matua, must be respected.
Te Rūnanga Nui is now calling for the Crown to meet Māori education organisations and establish a clear process for shared decision-making, with Māori education experts involved from the outset and whānau, hapū and iwi properly resourced to participate.
The call comes amid a separate controversy over transparency inside the Ministry of Education. Chief Ombudsman John Allen has sought an urgent meeting with the Secretary for Education following reports that staff may have been encouraged to avoid creating written records that could be captured by the Official Information Act. The allegations have not yet been established.
For Wright, the wider issue is bigger than a single curriculum document. It is about whether Māori have a meaningful role in decisions affecting the education, identity, language and future of their tamariki.
The challenge now is whether the Crown responds to the Tribunal findings by changing not only the curriculum, but the way decisions about Māori education are made.
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