The Education Minister’s decision to axe a te reo Māori teacher professional development programme and use the funds for new primary school Mathematics workbooks is extremely disappointing, concerning and short-sighted, says Chris Abercrombie, PPTA Te Wehengarua president.

“The Minister knows that there is a lot of room for improvement around Māori student achievement outcomes. One of the ways we can improve outcomes is to make school more engaging for ākonga Māori. Te Reo Māori use by teachers is a crucial element in success for Māori as it reinforces cultural identify. A strong sense of identity contributes to tamariki Māori being successful at school. It assures rangatahi that they belong, they are valued, and can be proud of who they are and where they come from.

“The programme had a very good uptake among teachers and helped them meet the Teaching Council expectations around te reo Māori skills.”

Chris Abercrombie said an evaluation of the programme found that the intended outcomes were met.

“Participants experienced significant improvements in their pronunciation of te reo Māori; they also felt more confident to use te reo Māori (kupu and phrases) as part of their everyday teaching. Some participants were also sharing kīwaha, whakatauki, and waiata learnt on the programme with their students and colleagues. Some participants were making conscious efforts to include more local narratives and stories into their teaching programmes. The evaluation found encouraging examples of early childhood, primary and secondary teachers integrating more tikanga and mātauranga Māori into their teaching programme.”

“This programme was very new and over time I‘m sure it would have made a positive difference in classrooms around the motu.”

“The Minister’s decision to use the funding of this programme for more primary Mathematics workbooks is another example of this Government’s extremely narrow educational focus. Reading, writing and Maths are really important but so are other learning areas, and it comes down to the point of education. Is it about producing robots who can read, write and do maths equations or is it about helping children and young people to flourish and grow, with a range of knowledge and skills, truly comfortable in their own skins and able to thrive in the world?”

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