More than 1,800 schools that publicly committed to continuing to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi last year have been vindicated by the Waitangi Tribunal’s latest report, NZEI Te Riu Roa says.
The Tribunal today called on the Luxon Government to formally apologise and restore school boards’ Te Tiriti obligations under Section 127 of the Education and Training Act.
In a 112-page report – the third since launching its urgent inquiry in April – the Tribunal found the Minister of Education removed school boards’ Te Tiriti obligations “opportunistically” with "flimsy” evidence, ushering the change through Parliament under urgency late last year to avoid public scrutiny.
The Tribunal said the decision blindsided Māori, breached Te Tiriti principles of good government, partnership, active protection, and equity, and caused prejudice to Māori.
NZEI Te Riu Roa spokesperson and principal Adrianne McAllister said: “The clear message across all three Waitangi Tribunal reports is that the Government, particularly the Minister of Education, pushed through major changes to our education system that cause prejudice and could harm tamariki, without consulting Māori or the education sector, and despite warnings from their own officials.
“We know parents and whānau want their children to have a rich education grounded in Aotearoa and reflecting our bi-cultural heritage, and schools overwhelmingly want to provide this. Instead, we have seen a systematic rollback of culturally responsive learning across our education system.”
Mrs McAllister said every parent expects their tamariki to receive a high-quality education that reflects their language, culture, and identity.
“By making these changes unilaterally, the Minister undermined the goal of an equitable education system for every ākonga,” she said.
“If the Minister again ignores these latest Tribunal recommendations, she risks further damaging the relationship between the Crown and Māori and undermining trust in our public education system.”
Earlier this year, NZEI Te Riu Roa, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hine, and Te Kapotai sought the urgent inquiry into the Government’s decision to remove school boards’ legal obligations to uphold Te Tiriti. The groups also challenged the deprioritisation of te reo Māori, tikanga, mātauranga Māori, and Aotearoa histories in the curriculum.