Māori-Led Education

The Policy: TPM Education & Training Policy — 2023 Election →

Pitched as a structural transformation of New Zealand's education system so that Māori learners are served by institutions they control, rather than systems built for others — Te Pāti Māori's education platform argues that kaupapa Māori education, where Māori students are taught through te reo Māori and a Māori worldview, consistently outperforms mainstream schooling for the same students, yet receives a fraction of its funding and no autonomous governance.

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What it does

The funding-parity demand. Te Pāti Māori's Education & Training policy calls for all Māori-medium education to be funded at the same per-student rate as mainstream schooling. Currently, according to the party, just 1% of the total national education budget flows to kaupapa Māori institutions, despite Māori making up approximately 25% of the school population. The policy would create an equity-based funding model and establish a $200 million fund for whānau, hapū and iwi education initiatives, including new hapū-based wānanga.

Kura Kaupapa Māori Education Authority. Responding directly to the Waitangi Tribunal's July 2024 report *Kei Ahotea Te Aho Matua*, which found the Crown breached Treaty principles by excluding Māori from Tomorrow's Schools reform decisions, Te Pāti Māori pledged to fund Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori to establish an autonomous governance authority over kura from kōhanga reo through to wharekura level. Education spokesperson Tākuta Ferris stated: "By Māori, for Māori, to Māori is the only way forward."

STEM/STEAM academies. A $276 million fund to scale initiatives like the Pūhoro STEMM Academy — a Massey University-based programme that links mātauranga Māori to science and technology pathways — which currently reaches over 6,000 rangatahi after receiving $2.97 million in government funding through 2027. Te Pāti Māori would also double existing Māori and Pacific trade training and cadetship placements annually.

Kōhanga reo settlement. The party would implement the Waitangi Tribunal's findings in WAI 2336 (*Matua Rautia*) by significantly increasing operational funding for kōhanga reo, recognising the Whakapakari Tino Rangatiratanga teaching credential as equivalent to mainstream ECE qualifications, and guaranteeing pay equity for kaiako. As of 2024, the government allocates roughly $3 million annually across approximately 400 kōhanga reo — around $7,500 per centre — while enrolments and kaiako numbers continue to decline, with kaiako training enrolments falling 32% between 2014 and 2020.

Mainstream reform. Inside English-medium schools, the policy would require all schools to include Māori staff in senior leadership teams and fund Māori-led cultural programmes (kapa haka, taiaha, raranga, school marae). An independent Māori Standards Authority would audit te reo Māori competency of funded providers. The party also proposed banning expulsions for students under 16 — noting Māori students represent 50% of those excluded — and providing free digital devices and internet access for all students from Years 4–13.

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The result

The case for structural Māori-led education is grounded in measurable outcomes: data from a NZQA briefing to Education Minister Erica Stanford in October 2024 shows kura kaupapa Māori students achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 at rates of 63%, 72% and 73% respectively — well above the 50%, 64% and 56% achieved by Māori students in comparable mainstream schools. University Entrance attainment at kura stands at 41%, versus 18% for Māori in mainstream — a 23-percentage-point gap — despite most kura being in the bottom socio-economic band. Yet only 5% of Māori secondary students attend these schools, meaning the model that demonstrably works is also the most under-resourced. In English-medium schools, 27% of Māori students left in 2024 without any NCEA qualification, compared to 17% for Māori in te reo Māori settings. NZQA Deputy Chief Executive Jann Marshall acknowledged "a significant underlying equity gap between Māori and Pacific students and their European and Asian classmates remains at each level of NCEA."

The policy is contested at the structural level. ACT leader David Seymour, whose party secured removal of the Treaty obligation from school board governance requirements under the coalition agreement, argued that boards should be free to "teach as much tikanga and mātauranga Māori as they like" without legal compulsion — framing the change as a shift from mandate to choice. The PPTA and Education Leaders Forum opposed the move, saying it "undoes decades of progress" and that removing the Treaty element from governance obligations would mean schools are "not obliged to work with their communities to ensure local tikanga is recognised." A 2026 Waitangi Tribunal hearing heard that Māori were shut out of curriculum decision-making against the Ministry of Education's own advice, adding further legal pressure on the current government's approach.

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The impacts to watch

• Scale constraint: Kura kaupapa Māori educate only 1,857 students in Years 11–13 across 64 schools. Even with substantially increased funding, expanding teacher supply — kaiako training fell 25% between 2016 and 2020 — is the binding constraint on growth.
• Treaty liability: The 2024 *Kei Ahotea Te Aho Matua* Tribunal report recommended a stand-alone Kaupapa Māori education authority, and any government that fails to implement this risks further Treaty proceedings. Te Pāti Māori's policy directly tracks this recommendation.
• Kōhanga reo viability: The Spinoff reported in December 2024 that some kōhanga reo have five of six classrooms empty because no kaiako are available. Increased funding alone may not reverse structural collapse without parallel credential reform.
• Fiscal scale vs. delivery: The $276 million STEM fund and $200 million wānanga/hapū fund represent substantial new spending. No detailed costing or implementation timeline has been published; the credibility of the numbers as policy commitments (rather than aspirational figures) remains to be tested.

*Note: This policy has a Treaty/constitutional dimension. Positions are stated as held by named parties; no pejorative characterisation of any group is made.*