Work will start soon towards a revamp of Māori education, aimed at connecting more tamariki with their language and culture, the government says.
File photo: Students at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi. Photo: RNZ / Leigh McLachlan
Associate education minister Kelvin Davis said he wanted 30 percent of Māori learners participating in Kura Kaupapa or other Māori medium education by 2040.
That would see 60,000 more Māori learners, 3500 fluent kaiako and 250 more kura, Davis said.
The coming months will see talks with sector stakeholders and iwi to create a system Davis said would be built with, for, and delivered by Māori.
"The Kaupapa Māori Education pathway has been hard fought for by many that have come before us," he said in a statement.
"But it has existed inside an education system that was not built for it, and therefore, cannot fully deliver on the aspirations Māori hold for the way we educate our future generations."
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna students playing the board game Ngāti Ranginui at Parliament as associate education minister Kelvin Davis looks on. Photo: RNZ / Meriana Johnsen
He expected legislation to be introduced early next year, which he described as a regulatory framework for growing the sector.
The revamp, overseen by independent Māori Education body Te Pae Roa will be what has been long fought for.
Te Pae Roa will oversee the consultation process, as well as the design and implementation of any programme that comes from it. It will be chaired by experienced educator Dr Wayne Ngata.
"In particular, Kaupapa Māori education follows a different pathway from the English medium education system, yet for too many years we have used the technique of comparison to find ways to fit Kaupapa Māori education into this system," Davis said.
His announcement comes after the country's 63 Kura Kaupapa laid a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal, arguing they have been disadvantaged by years of underfunding and sidelining by the Crown.
They have called for a separate Māori education authority, which Davis has ruled out.
