Categories: Education

Teachers’ unions want te reo Māori taught in all schools

<h4>Teachers&&num;8217&semi; unions NZEI Te Riu Roa and PPTA Te Huarahi are backing the the Green Party&&num;8217&semi;s goal for te reo M&amacr;ori to be taught in all schools in New Zealand&period;<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p>The Green Party has announced its M&amacr;ori caucus will be working with parents&comma; teachers&comma; unions&comma; hap&umacr; and iwi to create a plan that will ensure every Kiwi child will learn te reo&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Te Reo Maori should be a part of our everyday language&comma; and taught as a key part of New Zealand&&num;8217&semi;s curriculum&comma;&&num;8221&semi; NZEI president Lynda Stuart says&period; &&num;8220&semi;By normalising Te Reo M&amacr;ori in our schools we help make learning more inclusive for M&amacr;ori children&comma; and we also help ensure our indigenous language stays truly alive for all of us&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>PPTA Te Huarahi representative Johnny Waititi says&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;E tautoko marika m&amacr;tou ng&amacr; hiahia&comma; ng&amacr; tumanako o Te P&amacr;ti K&amacr;kariki mo t&omacr; t&amacr;tou reo rangatira&comma; pono marika t&emacr;r&amacr;&period; No reira me tuku t&emacr;nei kaupapa ki te ao&comma; me tuku kia rere&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Ko t&emacr;nei te hiahia&comma; engari he aha ng&amacr; rautaki hei whakatinana wenei hiahia&comma; koina&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>PPTA president Jack Boyle adds&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We have had policy supporting te reo Maori as a universal subject since 2001&comma; so it’s excellent to see a political party taking concrete steps towards achieving it&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Being able to learn te reo M&amacr;ori will benefit every child in Aotearoa&sol;New Zealand&period; Te reo M&amacr;ori is part of the fabric of the economic&comma; social and cultural history of all New Zealanders&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Of course&comma; having the right number of teachers of te reo is critical to the success of this policy&period; Currently the demand for teachers of te reo M&amacr;ori outstrips supply&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There is a clear need for more teachers with appropriate skills and qualifications&period; M&amacr;ori teachers are needed to provide the source for the teaching of M&amacr;ori language and culture in the public education system&period; They are strong advocates for te ao M&amacr;ori within their schools&period;” Boyle says&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The policy is clear that capacity and supply issues must be addressed and we look forward to working together on a comprehensive plan&period;”  <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Ko t&omacr;ku reo&comma; t&omacr;ku ohooho&comma; t&omacr;ku m&amacr;pihi maurea&comma; t&omacr;ku whakakai marihi&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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