Maori students more likely to be stood down

Hone Harawira

Ministry of Education figures show Maori pupils are two and half times as likely to be stood down from school as Pakeha.

More than 1000 students were stood down from schools, some twice, across Northland last year, according to the figures.

A total of 788 Maori students were stood down compared with 300 for Pakeha.

Reasons for schools taking action included assaults, arson, drugs, alcohol, sexual harassment, weapons and vandalism.

Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira says the figures will not change until Maori are catered for in mainstream schools - or as long as the Government believes its 'we are all New Zealanders' mantra will improve the lot of Maori.

The Ministry of Eduction has acknowledged the disproportionately high suspension and stand-down rates for Maori and hopes "engagement programmes" will cut them back.

The ministry's Northland area manager Chris Eve said: "It's a really complex thing, it's socio-economic and it involves access. If you live in the middle of Pawarenga or somewhere the environment for schooling is so different than if you live on Mains Ave or Norfolk St, Whangarei. There are all sorts of factors that come into it."

NCEA results also showed that Maori students were achieving at lower rates than non-Maori.

"That's no excuse for what's happening, but that's a fact," Mr Eve said.

Stand-downs and suspensions had been reduced by 26 per cent at schools that had brought in programmes linked to the Student Engagement Initiative.

Schools in Northland that ran the Te Kotahitanga programme, aimed at improving Maori achievement, had experienced similar success.

The number of stand-downs in Northland had also remained fairly static since 2003 and the number of suspensions had fallen.

Mr Harawira said mainstream schools could learn from Maori educational providers such as Te Wananga o Aotearoa and Kura Kaupapa, which had created opportunities for Maori to realise their dreams, he said.

"The Government is going through this 'we are all New Zealanders' bulls**t right now. As long as they think that's going to improve the lot of Maori, we are always going to have problems," he said.

* A stand-down is the formal removal of a student from school for a specified period. The maximum is five days a term or 10 days a year.

A suspension is the formal removal of a student from school until the board of trustees decides whether to lift the suspension, extend it, or expel the student.

The number of suspensions was 242 for Maori students and 71 for Pakeha.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)