Source: Radio New Zealand
Education Minister Erica Stanford RNZ / Mark Papalii
There is nothing stopping schools promoting te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Education Minister says, but they must make closing the achievement gap for tamariki the priority.
Earlier this month the National Iwi Chairs Forum delivered a 24,000-strong petition to Erica Stanford, calling for the immediate reversal of the amendment that removed school boards’ requirement to give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Regarding the controversy, Stanford said she took the Treaty obligations affecting education seriously.
The focus had shifted to closing the achievement gap between Māori and Pākehā children and to this end she was constantly monitoring Māori data, she told Morning Report. There was also a Māori action plan which had received funding.
She wanted schools to follow three aims: raising Māori achievement, being culturally confident in the classroom and teaching te reo.
“Over and above that, if a school chooses to do what they think they need to do to honour the Treaty then that is their choice. It’s not been taken away from them …”
The Labour government had done nothing to raise Māori achievement in its six years, but now there were specific goals and early results showed this approach was working, Stanford said.
Curriculum revamp
New maths and English curriculums for years 0-6, the plans to scrap and replace NCEA and on-going industrial action have been among other causes of controversy this year.
Erica Stanford said the Education Review Office’s assessment of the year “fills me with confidence”.
Achievements included: 98 percent of schools were using the new maths and English curriculums, 80 percent of teachers had changed their teaching practice and by term 3 half of teachers were seeing improved achievement in the classroom.
Maths and phonics check results were impressive and she was grateful to the teaching profession for embracing the changes and doing so well.
Stanford said she knew there was criticism and apprehension at the scale and pace of change, however, schools had been advised to go at their own pace.
Originally, the plan had been to drop the entire curriculum in 2027 so changes had been introduced at a slower pace.
“Even though it has been a big change we are seeing results. Maths, reading and behaviour as well in the classroom – we’ve arrested the decline and we’re starting to see early results that are really encouraging.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
