During a school visit in South Auckland today, Education Minister Nikki Kaye elaborated more on funding for Māori language and kura management from Budget 2017.
$7.6 million over four years is being invested in Māori language in education curriculum resources,
$1.7 million to continue supporting the Boards of Trustees of Māori medium schools
Kaye was accompanied by Prime Minister Bill English when she spoke about what the funding will provide at Roscommon School.
She says, "This funding will accelerate the design and delivery of localised curriculum resources to support te reo Māori for ākonga, kaiako and Kāhui Ako."
"It adds significantly to the $2 million already spent each year on Māori language in education curriculum resources.
"Students in Māori medium and English medium kura and schools are set to benefit from the new resources, which will be created to support students both learning te reo Māori as a subject, and studying other subjects in and through te reo.
“There will be a focus on priority areas such as literacy, numeracy, science and digital technology. The types of resources that will be developed include learning materials using local stories about specific places and events, and materials that depict national and regional events such as the Māori Land Wars, the Treaty of Waitangi commemorations, and recognition of Māori Leaders.”
More resources being made available through digital platforms will also be supported by the funding. Approximately 180,000 children and young people participate in Māori language in education across Māori medium and English medium schooling settings.
"Improving access to quality localised curriculum resources for these children and young people is key to supporting their success in education.
"This is about enabling students to see themselves and their community within their learning environment. This is important, as evidence tells us that if a student’s identity, language and culture are supported throughout their education then they are more likely to succeed and remain engaged in their learning.
"We have already seen significant gains in Māori achievement. The biggest increase in 18 year olds achieving NCEA Level 2 has been for Māori, with provisional results showing a 17.6 percent increase in just five years.
"In 2016, the percentage for Māori 18 year olds gaining NCEA Level 2 was 74.7% compared to 57.1% in 2011. That means 5,079 more young Māori with better prospects and more choices about their future.
"We have also seen students achieving well in Māori medium education settings. In 2015, achievement of NCEA Level 2 or above was at 78% demonstrating the impact of Māori medium education."
Alongside the curriculum resources, Budget 2017 also provides $1.7 million of funding over four years to continue support for the Boards of Trustees of Māori medium schools.
The representative bodies for kura kaupapa Māori are Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa (TRN) and Ngā Kura ā-Iwi o Aotearoa (NKAI).
Kaye says, "This funding will enable TRN and NKAI to continue to provide support services for the Boards of Trustees of their respective schools.
“Ensuring there is continued quality provision of support for Boards of Trustees in kura kaupapa Māori is vitally important. This funding will benefit more than 9,000 students enrolled in kura kaupapa Māori.”