The Education Ministry says under the amended legislation schools will “be required under s127 of the Act to provide Māori language education on request of a parent or caregiver”.
Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley
A sudden law change means the only legal obligation for schools to teach te reo Māori is if parents ask for it.
The government is removing a requirement for schools to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi that included “taking all reasonable steps to make instruction available in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori”.
Government ministers said they were making the change because treaty obligations were the Crown’s responsibility and teaching Māori would still be protected by law.
Asked what regulation or legislation would require schools to use te reo, the Education Ministry said under the amended legislation schools would “be required under s127 of the Act to provide Māori language education on request of a parent or caregiver”.
“This is the same requirement in relation to te reo Māori that was in place between 1989 and 2020,” it said.
“The proposed amendment will also require a school board to seek to achieve equitable outcomes for Māori students. It must take reasonable steps to ensure that the policies and practices for the school reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity.”
Some teacher and principal groups reacted angrily to this week’s change which took them by surprise.
The move followed the publication last week of draft curriculum documents that teachers said contained fewer Māori words and meaningful references to the treaty.
However, the revised primary school English curriculum included guidance for teaching children to read Māori words in English texts during their second and third years of schooling – something the government had previously flagged as a new development.
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