WELLINGTON - The Ministry of Education is investigating reports that a woman convicted of a bizarre, ritualistic killing has been working at a Stokes Valley kohanga reo.
The Koraunui Te Kohanga Reo closed on July 2 after parents of children at the centre reportedly complained about Huia Tawhai's presence there.
But the
ministry said it had no idea Mrs Tawhai had been working at the centre, or even that the kohanga reo had closed.
Mrs Tawhai, with her lover Wallace Waru Iopata, killed her husband, Lou, in 1992. The bizarre killing culminated in the two pouring hot water over Mr Tawhai's genitals before cutting them out, butchering the body and burning it.
The two were later found chanting and naked at the scene of the killing, saying they were waiting for a UFO to take them to Australia.
Mrs Tawhai was freed about 18 months ago after serving part of a seven-year sentence for manslaughter.
The ministry's national operations manager, Alan Upston, said it provided a bulk-funded grant to the Kohanga Reo National Trust, which was then responsible for managing individual kohanga reo.
The ministry was concerned about children's safety at the centre and planned to meet its managers and the trust. He would ask whether they planned to reopen the centre, and if they did, whether it was a safe place for children.
The case follows concerns raised by the Education Review Office this month that the trust was having difficulty meeting the Government's expectations of an early childhood service.
In a report on the trust, the office said: "The philosophy of te kohanga reo does not sit easily with the requirement to operate under funding and accountability arrangements which have been established for mainstream early childhood education services."
Trust chief executive Iritana Tawhiwhirangi was not available for comment yesterday. - NZPA
