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Scoop
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Budget 2025: Māori Educators Say Boost Won't Fix Poor School Buildings
Mori Medium schools received funding in the Budget for approximately 50 new teaching spaces. Kura Kaupapa Māori say Budget 2025 will fail to address their longstanding concerns around substandard school properties. Māori Medium schools received funding in the Budget for approximately 50 new teaching spaces. Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa said at present, close to 40 Kura Kaupapa Māori remain on the Ministry of Education's property backlog list. Co-chair of Te Rūnanga Nui Rāwiri Wright said dividing this limited funding across all Māori-medium settings – including Māori immersion units in mainstream schools – will leave kura with next to nothing. 'We are being kept in the dark. There is no clear breakdown of how this funding will be allocated, no equity in the process, and certainly no commitment to a genuine Treaty-based partnership. Meanwhile, our whānau continue to send their tamariki to kura that are falling apart. 'This is not a genuine solution. It's yet another example of the Crown's ongoing failure to prioritise Kura Kaupapa Māori,' Wright said. Te Rūnanga Nui called on the government to implement a long-term, ring-fenced investment plan of $1.25 billion over five years – $250 million annually – dedicated to Kura Kaupapa Māori property development. Over the past five years, the Ministry of Education has allocated less than 3 percent of its property budget to Kura Kaupapa, highlighting a significant underinvestment in this area, Te Rūnanga said in a statement. 'Te Aho Matua defines our kura. Our buildings must reflect the values, identity, and excellence of our tamariki,' Wright said. Chief executive Hohepa Campbell said this is why Kura Kaupapa Māori lodged an urgent claim with the Waitangi Tribunal. 'The Tribunal has since confirmed what we have been saying for years-that the Crown has systematically underinvested in our kura and failed to implement dedicated policy or adequate funding to support our kaupapa,' he said. During the hearings for the claim, Tribunal members visited Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna in Wellington and were visibly shocked at the substandard facilities tamariki are expected to learn in, Campbell said. In its closing arguments, even the Crown acknowledged that kura are under-resourced and that historical issues demand significant investment. The report found the Crown had breached Te Tiriti o Waitangi by failing to develop bespoke policies and investment strategies to address the specific needs of Kura Kaupapa Māori. Māori Education Package The Budget set aside more than $36 million over four years for a Māori Education Package, which included funding for five components: Training and support for up to 51,000 teachers in Year 0-13 schools to learn te reo Māori and tikanga. A Virtual Learning Network for online STEM education to more than 5500 Year 9-13 students in Kura Kaupapa and Maori Medium education. Seven new curriculum advisors to help teachers in using the redesigned Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. New curriculum resources in te reo matatini and STEM for around 5000 senior secondary students. Developing a new Māori Studies subject area for The New Zealand Curriculum, for Year 11-13 English medium schools. However, this package was funded by reprioritising funding from other initiatives, including disestablishing the Wharekura Expert Teachers programme and disestablishing roles for Resource Teachers of Māori, among other repriorritised funding initiatives. Te Rūnanga Nui said they were appalled by the funding cut to expert wharekura teachers. 'This decision undermines the very heart of quality wharekura secondary education. Our tamariki deserve access to specialist teachers who can provide high-level Te Aho Matua and NCEA curriculum expertise. Cutting this support is not only shortsighted – it is negligent,' their statement read. Education Minister Erica Stanford said the wider investment in education is the most significant investment in learning support in a generation. 'Backed by a social investment lens, this is a seismic shift in how we support learning needs in New Zealand. We're deliberately prioritising early intervention, investing in what works and directly tackling long-standing inequities in the system.'
Scoop
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Budget 2025: Māori Educators Say Boost Won't Fix Poor School Buildings
Kura Kaupapa Māori say Budget 2025 will fail to address their longstanding concerns around substandard school properties. Māori Medium schools received funding in the Budget for approximately 50 new teaching spaces. Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa said at present, close to 40 Kura Kaupapa Māori remain on the Ministry of Education's property backlog list. Co-chair of Te Rūnanga Nui Rāwiri Wright said dividing this limited funding across all Māori-medium settings - including Māori immersion units in mainstream schools - will leave kura with next to nothing. "We are being kept in the dark. There is no clear breakdown of how this funding will be allocated, no equity in the process, and certainly no commitment to a genuine Treaty-based partnership. Meanwhile, our whānau continue to send their tamariki to kura that are falling apart. "This is not a genuine solution. It's yet another example of the Crown's ongoing failure to prioritise Kura Kaupapa Māori," Wright said. Te Rūnanga Nui called on the government to implement a long-term, ring-fenced investment plan of $1.25 billion over five years - $250 million annually - dedicated to Kura Kaupapa Māori property development. Over the past five years, the Ministry of Education has allocated less than 3 percent of its property budget to Kura Kaupapa, highlighting a significant underinvestment in this area, Te Rūnanga said in a statement. "Te Aho Matua defines our kura. Our buildings must reflect the values, identity, and excellence of our tamariki," Wright said. Chief executive Hohepa Campbell said this is why Kura Kaupapa Māori lodged an urgent claim with the Waitangi Tribunal. "The Tribunal has since confirmed what we have been saying for years-that the Crown has systematically underinvested in our kura and failed to implement dedicated policy or adequate funding to support our kaupapa," he said. During the hearings for the claim, Tribunal members visited Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna in Wellington and were visibly shocked at the substandard facilities tamariki are expected to learn in, Campbell said. In its closing arguments, even the Crown acknowledged that kura are under-resourced and that historical issues demand significant investment. The report found the Crown had breached Te Tiriti o Waitangi by failing to develop bespoke policies and investment strategies to address the specific needs of Kura Kaupapa Māori. Māori Education Package The Budget set aside more than $36 million over four years for a Māori Education Package, which included funding for five components: Training and support for up to 51,000 teachers in Year 0-13 schools to learn te reo Māori and tikanga. A Virtual Learning Network for online STEM education to more than 5500 Year 9-13 students in Kura Kaupapa and Maori Medium education. Seven new curriculum advisors to help teachers in using the redesigned Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. New curriculum resources in te reo matatini and STEM for around 5000 senior secondary students. Developing a new Māori Studies subject area for The New Zealand Curriculum, for Year 11-13 English medium schools. However, this package was funded by reprioritising funding from other initiatives, including disestablishing the Wharekura Expert Teachers programme and disestablishing roles for Resource Teachers of Māori, among other repriorritised funding initiatives. Te Rūnanga Nui said they were appalled by the funding cut to expert wharekura teachers. "This decision undermines the very heart of quality wharekura secondary education. Our tamariki deserve access to specialist teachers who can provide high-level Te Aho Matua and NCEA curriculum expertise. Cutting this support is not only shortsighted - it is negligent," their statement read. Education Minister Erica Stanford said the wider investment in education is the most significant investment in learning support in a generation. "Backed by a social investment lens, this is a seismic shift in how we support learning needs in New Zealand. We're deliberately prioritising early intervention, investing in what works and directly tackling long-standing inequities in the system."
RNZ News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Budget 2025: Māori educators say boost won't fix poor school buildings
Co-chair of Te Rūnanga Nui Rāwiri Wright. Photo: Te Rawhitiroa Bosch Kura Kaupapa Māori say Budget 2025 will fail to address their longstanding concerns around substandard school properties. Māori Medium schools received funding in the Budget for approximately 50 new teaching spaces. Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa said at present, close to 40 Kura Kaupapa Māori remain on the Ministry of Education's property backlog list. Co-chair of Te Rūnanga Nui Rāwiri Wright said dividing this limited funding across all Māori-medium settings - including Māori immersion units in mainstream schools - will leave kura with next to nothing. "We are being kept in the dark. There is no clear breakdown of how this funding will be allocated, no equity in the process, and certainly no commitment to a genuine Treaty-based partnership. Meanwhile, our whānau continue to send their tamariki to kura that are falling apart. "This is not a genuine solution. It's yet another example of the Crown's ongoing failure to prioritise Kura Kaupapa Māori," Wright said. Te Rūnanga Nui called on the government to implement a long-term, ring-fenced investment plan of $1.25 billion over five years - $250 million annually - dedicated to Kura Kaupapa Māori property development. Over the past five years, the Ministry of Education has allocated less than 3 percent of its property budget to Kura Kaupapa, highlighting a significant underinvestment in this area, Te Rūnanga said in a statement. "Te Aho Matua defines our kura. Our buildings must reflect the values, identity, and excellence of our tamariki," Wright said. Chief executive Hohepa Campbell said this is why Kura Kaupapa Māori lodged an urgent claim with the Waitangi Tribunal. "The Tribunal has since confirmed what we have been saying for years-that the Crown has systematically underinvested in our kura and failed to implement dedicated policy or adequate funding to support our kaupapa," he said. During the hearings for the claim, Tribunal members visited Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna in Wellington and were visibly shocked at the substandard facilities tamariki are expected to learn in, Campbell said. In its closing arguments, even the Crown acknowledged that kura are under-resourced and that historical issues demand significant investment. The report found the Crown had breached Te Tiriti o Waitangi by failing to develop bespoke policies and investment strategies to address the specific needs of Kura Kaupapa Māori. The Budget set aside more than $36 million over four years for a Māori Education Package, which included funding for five components: However, this package was funded by reprioritising funding from other initiatives, including disestablishing the Wharekura Expert Teachers programme and disestablishing roles for Resource Teachers of Māori, among other repriorritised funding initiatives. Te Rūnanga Nui said they were appalled by the funding cut to expert wharekura teachers. "This decision undermines the very heart of quality wharekura secondary education. Our tamariki deserve access to specialist teachers who can provide high-level Te Aho Matua and NCEA curriculum expertise. Cutting this support is not only shortsighted - it is negligent," their statement read. Education Minister Erica Stanford said the wider investment in education is the most significant investment in learning support in a generation. "Backed by a social investment lens, this is a seismic shift in how we support learning needs in New Zealand. We're deliberately prioritising early intervention, investing in what works and directly tackling long-standing inequities in the system." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Māori children should matter in our mainstream schools
In a recent interview with Mihi Forbes, Education Minister Erica Stanford discussed how the minister intended to improve outcomes for Māori children in mainstream 90% of Māori children attend mainstream schools, where they generally do worse than their peers, while those children in kura kaupapa Māori (Māori-medium education) thrive, outperforming their mainstream peers. A 2021 report on the successes of kura kaupapa Māori said one of the key markers was that kaiako (teachers) and kaimahi (staff) were competent and knowledgeable in tikanga, te reo Māori and Māori knowledge. So it was good to hear the minister's enthusiastic response to the questions of how she planned to address the disparity for Māori children and what lessons could be learned from kura kaupapa Māori. "If we are serious about closing the equity gap and having a bilingual education system — which we are — then we have to equitably resource it," she said. However, when pressed on specific actions and what approaches mainstream schools could adopt from Māori-medium success, her response was much vaguer: "There's probably something we need to learn here in the mainstream ... to implement some of those successful things [from Māori-medium schools]." At a fundamental level, one of those "some things to learn" — as highlighted by educators like Rawiri Wright, co-chair of Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa — is integrating the Māori world view into mainstream schooling to lift achievement for Māori students. The minister was circumspect on this and could not identify anything specific that she might bring into or support in mainstream schools. Which was very odd, because one of those specifics is the success of resource teachers: Māori and resource teachers: literacy. She has successful programmes in operation right now, in mainstream schools, that she could enhance with more funding. Jeanette Fitzsimons once said to me that to understand a government's environmental policy, you had to look at its economic policy. That would tell you the truth of its intentions. The same logic applies here: if we want to see the government's true priorities for Māori education, we need only look at what it funds and what it cuts. And what does that reveal for Māori children? The government is cutting funding for 174 specialist teaching roles — resource teachers: literacy (121 roles) and resource teachers: Māori (53 roles) — who work in both mainstream and Māori-medium schools. Resource teachers: Māori support bilingual and immersion programmes in schools, assisting teachers with curriculum planning and implementation. They provide teacher education in te reo and tikanga Māori and deliver professional learning and development for teachers. They help to produce high-quality resources and activities. They work closely with educators to assist with student assessment and programme evaluation. They help teachers to become more competent and knowledgeable in teaching Māori children. They are experts in fostering an inclusive and culturally rich learning environment for both students and teachers. So what is the justification for cutting these expert roles? A claim that this will create a "more efficient" support system. We've seen this before, cuts marketed as "efficiency" leading to substandard services that harm children — hello, David Seymour's Food in Schools programme. There is no reason to expect Ms Stanford's "efficiency" cuts will be any different. There are only two resource teachers: Māori in the Otago region and three in the Southland region. These front-line resource teachers are already overworked and under-resourced, yet they provide critical support for students, their whānau and their teachers. They could do so much more with just a little more. When asked about the cuts to these Otago and Southland roles, National MP for Southland Joseph Mooney responded: "These services are inequitably distributed, not achieving the coverage we need and creating large-scale inefficiencies where individual staff are trying to cover huge geographic areas and multiple schools across large clusters." Yes, quite, Mr Mooney. The inequity and the workload problems you identify justify increasing resources for the critical programme, not cutting it for some unclear, unproven "optimised education workforce model". This ill-conceived decision to cut these expert resource teachers is a direct assault on bilingual and immersion programs in state schools and on the children, Māori and Pākehā, that these programmes serve. The cuts undermine proven methods that help Māori students succeed. While the minister claims she wants Māori children to succeed in mainstream schools and to learn from successful Māori education models, her funding priorities tell the real story: Māori students matter less in mainstream schools. ■Metiria Stanton Turei is a senior law lecturer at the University of Otago and a former Green Party MP and co-leader.
