4. TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) Link to this
to the Associate Minister of Education
He aha ngā mahi ka tohua e ia hei mahi mā te Minita o Te Mātaurangaimuri mai i te pānuitanga o te ripoatawhakataki o te tau rua manomāonomōngā tamariki kei te haere, kārerāneii te haere, kei te ngarorāneiingā kura o Niu Tīreni, e whakaatuana e rua ōrau te rahiakeingātau e rua mōngā tamariki Māori kei te ngaroingā kura, ā, he rahiaketēnei ki ērāmōngā tauira Tauiwi, tauira Āhia hoki?
[What action will he be recommending to the Minister of Education following the preliminary report on Attendance, Absence, and Truancy in New Zealand Schools in 2006]
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) Link to this
I can confirm that the percentage increase in the Māori truancy rate was 1.6 percent between 2004 and 2006. That is based upon the attendance and absence survey undertaken over a 1-week period in August 2006. The Government is deeply concerned about the increased rates of truancy across all groups, if they occur, and, in particular, those around Māori at this time. We have been working closely together with a range of agencies on strategies that are targeted at lifting our performance around truancy issues, and, in particular, at getting Māori to stay at school for longer and achieve good qualifications.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Kia ora, Madam Speaker. Is he aware that in 2005 Māori students in year 11 attending Māori medium schools had a higher rate of attaining the National Certificate of Educational Achievement than Māori in other schools did; if so, what strategies is he recommending to ensure that the success of kura kaupapa Māori education is replicated in mainstream schools?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
Yes, the Associate Minister is aware of those statistics. They reflect an agreement amongst schools that are often labelled as mainstream, and kura, that one of the key elements is the way that young Māori see themselves—whether they have a strong sense of being Māori, as Mason Durie would put it. Te Kotahitanga would be a good example of a programme that replicates that in the mainstream setting, and I understand that the results, to be published soon by Russell Bishop, are quite outstanding.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
What initiatives have been developed and implemented to improve Māori participation in education?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
Encouraging students to stay at school is a top priority for the Government, and since we have been in power we have been aiming to do just that. A major review of the district truancy service has now been done and its results are being implemented. The Student Engagement Initiative is beginning to have an impact. Other programmes are Te Mana; Te Kotahitanga, which I mentioned before—it is currently in 59 schools, and undoubtedly will be expanded, given how successful it looks to have been—and better systems, of course, to ensure that we know where students are, including the electronic enrolment system, and student management systems. These are just some of the things we are doing to help with this issue.
Hon Tau HenareWhen will the Minister take responsibility for the rising Māori truancy rates and the large number of Māori students who leave school without qualifications; if he is not going to take responsibility, when will he resign?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
The Associate Minister of Education takes full responsibility right now. Can I just mention, though, on the last-mentioned issue raised by the member, that Māori educational achievement is actually improving quite dramatically. There have been big improvements in recent years. In 2002, 35 percent of Māori school-leavers left school with low attainment. By 2004 that figure had dropped to 25 percent. More Māori are obtaining university entrance qualification; in 2004 that figure stood at 12 percent, which was up from 8 percent in 2002. We are seeing more and more women, in particular, move on to tertiary education. The member should be quite proud of what is happening amongst Māori at this time.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I took the time to count the number of interjections that the questioner made following his asking the question. In total, he gave 15 different interjections after he had asked the question. He was trained far better than that! It is a deterioration of standards that that is tolerated by his new party, and he should know better—15 interjections!
Madam SPEAKERI thank the member for his point of order. Certainly, the member who asked the question at one point made it difficult to hear the answer. He has an opportunity to ask other questions. I would just say that such interventions are not helpful.
Hon Brian Donnelly Link to this
Is the Associate Minister planning to recommend setting up a goon squad to visit each morning the homes of students with poor attendance records in order to wake up the parents, get the kids breakfast, then walk them to school; or does he believe the answer is to be found in greater ownership of the problem being taken by parents, whānau, and Māori leaders?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
The Government has no intention of setting up a goon squad to run homes around the country, but I am sure that someone like Tau Henare, with all that noise, is willing to wake kids up right across the country.
Heather RoyWill the Associate Minister of Education recommend to the Minister of Education that Māori communities be given their children’s share of education funding so that they can choose or start a school that meets their specific needs; or is he in denial about the clear failure of current policies, with 7 percent of Māori children regularly truanting and 53 percent leaving school with no qualification?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
No, the Associate Minister of Education is not going to do that, because we are seeing big improvements in the education system. More people from Māori backgrounds are enrolled in early childhood education, more people are gaining qualifications throughout the system, and more people are going on to university. We are seeing more Māori move on to higher levels of study, for example, compared with the general population. Māori people are, as the Associate Minister of Education is fond of saying, on the move. They do not need help from the ACT party. ACT members should stay in the Territorials.
Metiria TureiDoes he not agree that if Pākehā students and their teachers had better knowledge of the Treaty and its relevance today, Māori kids might feel safer and, therefore, want to stay in school for longer; if so, why is he segregating study of the Treaty to a Māori curriculum, rather than explicitly including it in the schools curriculum; is that not just entrenching racist attitudes?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I agree with the member that Māori need to know, as Mason Durie has said, how to be Māori in the school system, and that is what we are committed to doing. The second part of the question is quite wrong—there is no segregation of the curriculum. In fact, one of the most exciting things about that curriculum is that we are not merely translating it; it is being put into a Māori education framework this year. That is why it is so important.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Does the Minister recall the Prime Minister’s Speech from the Throne in 1999 in which she said: “As long as the economic and social gaps between Māori and other New Zealanders remain large, the Government of New Zealand cannot claim to have addressed the needs of all New Zealanders. My Government is committed to closing the gaps.”; and how, then, does he account for the fact that Māori truancy rates have climbed since 2004, leading to Māori having a truancy rate more than 4 percent higher than that of New Zealand European students?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
I of course remember the speech made by the Prime Minister in 1999, as all of us remember every single word she has said. The Prime Minister’s commitment to ensuring that everybody gets a fair deal in this country stands today. I shall take just one thing that I said before: Māori are moving into higher levels of study at a higher rate than the population in general. The gaps are closing.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
How does the Minister account for the fact that not only did the Māori truancy rate increase to 7.1 percent for females and 6.6 percent for males but the gap between it and the European rate also widened, from 3 percent in 2004 to 4 percent in 2006; what funding has been allocated to address Māori truancy and disengagement from education?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
Those figures are correct. The member is reading off a survey that I have as well. I just point him to such programmes as Team-Up, Mission-On, Hui Taumata, which brings together educators from all across the country, and the iwi education partnerships that are going on. There are a large number of programmes today that are to do with student engagement and with ensuring that we are able to track students. We have revised the district truancy service. The programmes go on and on. We are determined to ensure that young Māori stay at school until the compulsory leaving age, and leave with a qualification.