Mr Devonshire said the 2010 Census showed there was a higher percentage of Maori students enrolled in the region than the national average, and the scheme also aimed at the retention and higher education of Maori students.
Mr Devonshire said culture, language and identity were keys for the success of Kahungunu students and the concept of Wairarapatanga, which embraces "all of us" who call the region home.
"Wairarapa was known as a place of education and a place of wananga and this is an opportunity to continue the legacy of our old people - the likes of Te Whatahoro, Te Matorohanga and Paora Potangaroa."
The scheme is the first of its kind in New Zealand to win bulk funding from the ministry, Mr Devonshire said, and had been developed over the past three years in consultation with schools, educationalists, kohanga and wananga groups.
Nelson Rangi, Kahungunu ki Wairarapa governance board chairman, said family and parents were vital to the success of the scheme and the lifting of academic standards among Kahunguni ki Wairarapa students.
"If we want to raise the standards of education for the children then we have to involve the parents, we have to involve the families. Without their co-operation and involvement, we will get nowhere," he said.
"When we developed our strategic plan in 2008, one of our aims was that the education level of our children would be in the top 10 per cent.
"We aimed high and felt that level was admirable. When you reach for the sun, you're not going to end with your face in the mud."