"New Zealand must have a

highly skilled and knowledgeable

workforce to maintain our place in

the competitive world in the 21st

century."

[Government policy statement 1995]

Government objectives

The Government's objectives for Maori education are set out in the Ministry of Education strategic document, "Education for the 21st Century". The aim is to have full participation and achievement by Maori in all areas of education, and to meet this the Government has two objectives:

• An education system in which Maori have similar opportunities and outcomes to the rest of the community in terms of participation and success; and

• A Maori medium education system that ensures the revitalisation of the Maori language as a living language.

Maori student participation

The Government is already achieving success especially with the growth of Maori participation in education. Since 1990, the retention rates for Maori students in seventh form have increased from 15% to over 27%. Over the last decade, the number of Maori children enrolled in early childhood education has more than doubled from 12,000 to over 28,000 children.

Early Childhood Education:

Te Kohanga Reo

The most successful initiative in Maori education has been Te Kohanga Reo. Kohanga reo first started in 1982, offering an all day Maori language immersion programme to children under five.

Kohanga reo have enjoyed very strong growth especially since 1990, in the enrolment of Maori children and the number of centres opened throughout New Zealand. By 1994, there were over 13,000 children attending kohanga reo and there are now over 800 centres. Around 50% of all Maori children enrolled in early childhood education are attending kohanga reo.

Primary and Secondary:

Kura Kaupapa Maori

The development of kohanga reo led to the establishment of kura kaupapa Maori at primary level. Kura kaupapa are state schools designed by Maori for Maori and teach students all subjects in Maori. The aim of these schools is to produce bilingual students who have a high level of competency in both Maori and English.

The Maori community is very supportive of kura kaupapa.

The Government is committed to helping these schools continue to develop. In 1990, there were only 6 schools and by 1995, this has increased to 43 schools.

Maori Medium Education

In 1993, there were 335 schools offering some form of Maori medium education. These schools catered for nearly 18,000 Maori students. Maori medium education is an important part of New Zealand's educational development.

There is going to be an increasing demand for a continuing change in the way Maori education is delivered by teachers. Particularly as fluent Maori speaking students will be moving from kura kaupapa into secondary schooling.

A pilot scheme is being trialed whereby a Kura Kaupapa Maori has been established within a mainstream school in Ngaruawahia. This is ensuring that school resources can be used efficiently and effectively whilst meeting the needs of the students and local community.

Tertiary

Two wananga (tertiary institutions offering degree courses with an emphasis on Maori language and culture) were established in 1993 and are Government funded. They provide Maori students with tertiary education and training designed to meet the needs of the students.

Between 1989 and 1994, Maori student participation in this sector increased by over 200% from 5,000 to over 21,000 students. This meant that the number of Maori enrolments increased from 3.7% of total enrolments in 1989 to 10.4% in 1994. Graduates doubled in numbers from 1990 to 1993 representing 6.4% of all New Zealand university graduates.

Education Initiatives

In the 1995 Budget, the Government committed to investing an additional $30 million over three years for new education initiatives. These will build on current successful Maori education programmes. The initiatives include:

• 15 new Kura Kaupapa Maori to be established at a capital cost of $14 million bringing the total of kura kaupapa schools to 53 by 1998, up from 6 in 1990;

• $5 million has been allocated to give up to 300 teachers an opportunity to improve their skills in te reo Maori; and

• In early childhood education, $2.5 million is being spent on the kohanga reo Whakapakari three-year tutor training programme to meet the demand for skilled tutors needed for the growth in kohanga reo services.

Ministry of Education initiatives

The Government in recent years has undertaken a programme of education reforms which are allowing greater flexibility in how education is provided and a greater choice for parents and children. In Maori education, the positive changes have provided Maori with the ability to define and design the kind of education they want for themselves and their children. It has also ensured greater opportunity for the Maori language to flourish.

As part of these reforms, the Ministry of Education's document "Education for the 21st Century" was developed. In addition to the targets set out in the document, the Ministry also developed a Ten Point Plan for Maori education. The focus for this plan includes:

Maori language initiatives; early childhood education; home-school relationships; research into Maori education; Maori language resources; Maori language teachers; tertiary participation; the New Zealand Curriculum framework; alternative Maori education structures and bicultural development within the Ministry.

The education system now offers two viable choices for Maori students, either immersion or mainstream. It is important to ensure that such choice continues and the needs of Maori students are met in both areas. The increase in participation levels of Maori students in each area of education is showing that the Government's policies are having a positive effect in dealing with Maori disadvantage.

Current developments

Draft Maori curriculum have been released in mathematics (pungaru), science (putaiao) and Maori language (te reo Maori).

Te Puni Kokiri's Role

The Ministry of Maori Development has been focusing on the improvement of both the design and delivery of educational services to Maori.

The Ministry has facilitated the establishment of several national organisations including:

• a national organisation of Kura Kaupapa Maori, Te Runanganui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori o Aotearoa;

• the National Association of Maori Mathematicians, Scientists and Technologists. A very successful wananga putaiao (science camp) was held by this association. It involved kura kaupapa students and their teachers participating in a science programme run on a marae. Te reo Maori was the language of the course and aspects of Maori scientific knowledge were included in the programme;

• undertaking a major consultation exercise seeking Maori views on the Ministry of Education's strategy document "Education for the 21st Century" to ensure that Maori needs were taken into consideration and met through the strategy;

• establishing a group of Maori experts to plan strategies to increase the participation of Maori in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and

• trialed a project at Ngata College to investigate how the needs of rural schools with large Maori rolls can be met through telecommunications systems and information technology.