The Minister of Education’s decision to remove the requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a part of the Government’s project to erase all responsibility to Te Tiriti and tamariki Māori, says NZEI Te Riu Roa.
The change to the Education and Training Act is expected to be put to Parliament today with no public consultation.
“This is the latest in a series of racist, dogmatic attacks on our education system,” says NZEI Te Riu Roa president Ripeka Lessels.
“We’ve seen the removal of te reo from early readers, the slashing of Te Ahu o te Reo funding, cutting resource teachers Māori and now the removal of the clause for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti – this paints a pretty clear picture of a Government intent on the demotion of Te Tiriti in education and across our society.
“Minister Stanford has rightly stated that school boards play an important role in raising achievement; and then she's gone and removed a clause that is part of helping ākonga Māori succeed at school. For ākonga Māori, schools having strategies that give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is critical to engagement, attendance and achievement.”
Mrs Lessels says that decades of research show that ākonga Māori are most engaged with learning and have higher achievement rates when they see themselves reflected in their learning environment.
"We know this through our experience too. A school board is a crucial part of creating a learning environment and its governance sets a tone. Learning environments are made through the interweaving of the actions of school boards and their strategic plans alongside the day-to-day activities of teaching and learning.”
Mrs Lessels says that changing the objectives for school boards has not been requested by professionals or whānau, by boards themselves or school communities.
“These changes appear to be ideologically driven, not evidence-based. To solely focus on attendance, for example, and not pay heed to what helps a child come to school is simplistic and shows a lack of understanding of the culture in this country.”
In 2023 the United Nation’s Committee on the Rights of the Child, recommended that the New Zealand Government “Address the racism, discrimination, stigma and bias experienced by Māori and Pasifika children in school, including by strengthening efforts to promote and foster the Māori language, cultural identity and history in education.”
“This recommendation is clear – the Government will find themselves on the wrong side of history.”
ENDS