Kura Kaupapa Māori unlikely to jump on Act’s charter schools waka

The kura at Hoani Waititi Marae celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025. Photo / Mike Scott

Kura kaupapa Māori does not see any advantage in aligning with Act’s revived kura hourua charter school model.

Te Rūnanga o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori chair Rawiri Wright says Act leader and Associate Education Minister David Seymour has been talking with Te Matakahuki, which brings together Te Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura ā Iwi and the Wānanga Māori.

He’s opened the door for kura to join the initiative, but the particular partnership goes against kura’s founding aspirations

“Our kaupapa, which is to grow a parallel kaupapa Māori education system, which is what our Waitangi Tribunal claim is all about, which is about what we have been talking about for 40 years – let them have their mainstream education system, but allow us to continue to develop a parallel system based on mātauranga kaupapa Māori,” Wright told Waatea.News.Com.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, highlighting the duration of the kaupapa.

Te Rūnanga o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori chair Rawiri Wright. Photo / Ben Fraser

Meanwhile, one school that might go back to being a charter school is Whangarei’s Te Kāpehu Whetū.

Seymour has appointed an establishment board to get charter schools running again by early 2025, in line with the ACT-National coalition agreement.

This time around there will be an option for state schools to opt into the new model.

Raewyn Tipene opened Whangārei-based Te Kāpehu Whetu in 2014 as part of the original kura hourua charter school initiative and then took the option to turn it into a special character school when Labour scrapped the policy.

She says one result of the switch was that NCEA and University Entrance results went backwards, from being among the top in Te Taitokerau.

“The pressure goes off. The expectation of staff isn’t as high as it is under charter schools. If the policy is similar to what we’ve had in the past, we would think very seriously about shifting back,” she says.

A bill will introduced to formalise the return of partnership schools.

Atereano Mateariki & Gideon Porter, Waatea.News.Com