"Between 2019 and 2020 there has been an increase of 109 learners studying in te reo courses at Tauranga," Raerino said.
He said students varied in age, from teens up to people in their 80s, with the majority of learners over 30.
"We also get a lot of enrolments from grandparents who are keen to learn te reo so that they can share the language with their grandchildren," Raerino said.
The University of Waikato's Tauranga campus had also seen an increase in the number of students enrolling in te reo classes.
The university offered eight te reo Māori papers to students at its Tauranga campus, as well as Te Tohu Paetahi, a total immersion language diploma which includes six of these papers and two online papers.
There were 104 students enrolled in te reo papers at the Tauranga campus, ranging in age from 18 to 70.
"From 2019 to 2020 there has been a 50 per cent increase in enrolments in the eight te reo papers offered at the Tauranga campus. The number of students enrolled in Te Tohu Paetahi in Tauranga has increased by 75 per cent from 2019 to 2020," a communications spokeswoman said.
According to the 2018 Census, 8.6 per cent of the Bay of Plenty's population of 308,499 people speak te reo Māori.
Bay of Plenty-based tertiary providers that provide te reo programmes for students include Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology and the University of Waikato. Other programmes are available through communities and online via other tertiary providers and organisations.
One of those learning te reo is Sons of Zion lead singer Riapo Panapa, who despite having performed in front of thousands of people all around the world, says reciting his pepeha in te reo Māori as one of his most nerve-racking experiences.
At 32, Panapa has started his te reo journey after years of feeling incomplete - a void left by not being able to fluently speak his native language.
He's about eight weeks into his te reo journey now and his initial feelings of being too whakamā (shy) to speak it are dwindling away, becoming more confident in giving it a go as part of his learning.
"I think the biggest thing is just to speak it. If you're wrong it's better to be corrected so you can say it right," Panapa said.
Being Māori but unable to speak te reo fluently is something that has always weighed heavily on Panapa.
As an entertainer, a lot of his work dried up when Covid-19 struck. Having more time on his hands meant he was able to turn his focus on to other projects - and that's when he committed to learning his language.
He and one of his close friends, fellow entertainer Stan Walker, signed up to a level 2 te reo programme at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi's Whakatāne campus.
"I've always had a void... it's not filled yet but I definitely feel good that I'm working towards it."
Panapa said being able to take on the journey with his mate, whom he also lived with, meant they were able to practice, support and hold each other accountable in their journey.
They attend class twice a week, along with a group of people from diverse cultural backgrounds and ages, who all have their own reasons of wanting to learn. One Pākehā couple were learning because they had Māori grandchildren, he said.
"It's a cool environment," Panapa said.
"It was really welcoming."
However, the journey hasn't been without feelings of unease.
When the class was tasked with reciting their pepeha, going back five generations of their whakapapa (genealogy), Panapa said it was probably one of his most nerve racking experiences but it's one he valued deeply.
"For me and Stan it was like a big deal, it was quite nerve-racking."
He knew his pepeha to a certain degree but not as intricately as what was asked of them and as Māori, he felt he should have. But since undertaking the journey of strengthening his relationship with te reo, his desire to learn more also grows stronger.
"The more we do it the more it's becoming a priority. The more we go the more value we find in it."
Extremely proud to be Māori, Panapa said he would continue learning te reo well after his level two programme ended at the end of this year. He only wished he had started earlier.
Panapa said he wished his parents encouraged him to learn te reo growing up and now as a parent himself, that's something he will do with his own daughter, 4-year-old Lyla.
