An Education Ministry report has revealed the Education Minister, Erica Stanford, decided to cut te reo Māori in new additions to the Ready to Read Phonics Plus (RtRPP) series – books designed to teach five-year-olds to read.

The document shows in October last year, the Ministry was directed to ensure any future RtRPP books excluded all Māori words except for characters’ names.

The decision affected 13 books in development at the time, none of which contained kupu Māori apart from names. The series, which currently includes 27 books with Māori words, could still be reprinted once completed.

According to the paper, the move was prompted by concerns from some literacy experts that including two languages could confuse learners and make it harder to master English phonetics.

However, the report noted the evidence on this was mixed, and there was a case for considering the amount of Māori used in books for children learning to read, the advice the Minister was given was that ‘there is limited evidence about the impact of kupu Māori in phonics readers.’

Weaponising advice from Māori language experts

Te Ao Māori News spoke to leading experts in this space, who said the Minister’s rationale around English not being in reo Māori books is shortsighted, disingenous and dangerous.

They say the contexts are extremely different, te reo Māori is a minority language which means it needs dedicated exposure, that’s why there are immersion spaces across all education levels, English does not have the same context.

That she would use te reo Māori immersion contexts to argue for te reo not having a place in mainstream settings is pretty disingenuous, they say.

They argue that Māori-medium educators do not want English words included in te reo Māori early readers, because English exposure is already widespread and the minority language needs immersion spaces to develop effectively.

They also note that most tamariki Māori are not in Māori medium and they have a right to their language and culture at all levels.

The Ready to Read Phonics Plus series was designed to teach the reading of English and the sound–letter correspondences in English. The ministry advised schools to treat kupu Māori in the books as “told” words, as students were not expected to decode them phonetically.

The report shows handwritten notes from the Minister, citing ‘Māori language experts’ and ‘Kura leaders’ who told her they wouldn’t put English in Te Reo decodable books so ‘it would be consistent to keep to one language only.’

The report also highlighted that te reo Māori would be introduced more systematically in the English curriculum from a child’s second year at school, with teaching on Māori vowel sounds and pronunciation to prepare them for reading Māori words in later school journals.

Of the 75 Ready to Read books in circulation, 26 contain up to three Māori words and one title – At the Marae – includes six.

The October decision meant At the Marae would be reprinted only as a large-format “big book” for classroom use, not as a take-home reader – a move that has sparked criticism from the education sector and many in te ao Māori

The paper warned that removing kupu Māori from Year 1 decodable books could generate pushback from schools and creat media attention.

It noted that the resources typically have a lifespan of about 10 years, meaning it would take years for existing books containing Māori words to be replaced in practice.