Record number of Māori teaching students at Massey University
Tuesday, 26 January 2021
It’s hoped a record number of enrolments in Massey University’s Māori Kura Kaupapa teaching programme will help further champion Māori education.
Massey welcomed a group of new undergrad and postgraduate students at Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, the school of Māori knowledge, on Tuesday. This year 74 are enrolled, a record number.
The increase in student numbers is expected to help solve a shortage of Māori teachers in schools, including kura kaupapa Māori schools.
Deputy vice-chancellor Māori Meihana Durie said the increase in student numbers meant kura kaupapa schools could benefit from more people with different skills.
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He said the increase in numbers was a reflection of the strength of the course and showed it was a viable pathway for Māori education.
“We have another cohort of students who bring with them life skills and life experience that are so invaluable for our young people.
“Also that we have a record number of new students this year is a validation of the kaupapa itself. We’re optimistic about the future of teaching here, but also the future for Māori education.”
It’s hoped the increase in students would help the Māori education sector, with more people able to teach in te reo, as well as promote an improvement in children’s knowledge of Māori language and culture.
“For far too long we’ve had a shortage of qualified kura kaupapa Māori teachers.”
Durie said students who had come through the kura kaupapa Māori system brought positive change.
Ana-Marie Kawana, 32, and her brother Korakotaiwaha, 18, were among the new students welcomed on Tuesday.
Ana-Marie Kawana, who has six children, said she had put her family first when she was younger, but now was looking forward to study.
“I really believed in the concept of feeding our children their culture, their reo and everything that comes with that.”
Kawana believed having more people enrolled in the course would lead to more people being involved in Māori culture.
She said many Māori were shy to speak te reo, but having more teachers practising it would let children know they could use the language.
Kawana, who is fluent in te reo and of Rangitāne decent, grew up in Palmerston North, but now lives in Whanganui, where her children go to an immersion school.
Students enrolled in the Massey courses this year had come from around the country, including Ruatoria and Christchurch.