Education Minister Erica Stanford reveals $30m cut to te reo Māori funding to boost maths curriculum

Minister of Education Erica Stanford said maths was a priority.

• $30 million is being cut from te reo Māori teacher training to refresh the maths curriculum.
• Education Minister Erica Stanford said the te reo Māori initiative lacked accreditation and was costly.
• Although Stanford said te reo Māori was still a commitment, maths was more of a priority.

Thirty million dollars is being stripped from a programme funding teachers learning te reo Māori in order to supercharge the maths curriculum.

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the Te Ahu o te Reo Māori initiative “isn’t accredited” and is more than double the cost of “similar courses” with a price tag of $100 million.

“An evaluation of the programme found no evidence it directly impacted progress and achievement for students.

“The review also couldn’t quantify what impact the programme had on te reo Māori use in the classroom.”

Stanford told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking there is plenty of money in education to “reprioritise”.

She said the money specifically will be going to “high-quality workbooks” that some schools can not afford right now.

Stanford said it was a “huge effort” to be across all the curricular areas.

She said the Government is remaining steadfast in its commitment to the revitalisation of te reo Māori but maths achievements are more of a priority.

She said the funding shift will ensure support for “high-quality instructional mathematics resources”.

“Resources will be available in English and te reo Māori, curriculum aligned and reflect best-practice around the OECD”.

She said 22% of Year 8 students are at the expected standard for maths and 12% of Year 8 Māori students are where they should be.

The Minister was referring to where students currently sit against the new curriculum set to be introduced.

“I am not prepared to look parents in the eye and allow the 60,000 kids starting school next year to be on a similar trajectory.”

The move is a part of the Government’s “make it count” plan unveiled last month which involves the introduction of structural maths for year 0-8 students from term one in 2025 – a year earlier than planned.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he fast-tracked the move after seeing the “appalling” results.

He said it amounted to “a crisis” and the data had prompted him to call in the Secretary of Education and the ministry’s executive team.

“There’s no way to describe those results as anything other than a total system failure.”

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.

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