Principals Applaud Plans for Te Reo Maori in Schools

Image: Whetu Cormack / sourced

Whetu Cormick, President of the New Zealand Principals' Federation (NZPF) today applauded the announcement from the Green Party that they will support teaching te reo Māori to all New Zealanders in our public schools.

'NZPF led the establishment of a professional learning development programme, the Māori Achievement Collaborations (MACs) to support principals to transform the culture of their schools and open up to bi-culturalism.

'Teaching te reo to every New Zealander will complement the MAC programme and greatly benefit all children in Aotearoa,' said Cormick. 'It is admirable that we would aspire to a bi-lingual future for our country,' he said.

Cormick was particularly pleased with the collaborative approach the Greens are proposing in planning the introduction of te reo Maori in schools.

'We welcome the consultative approach being taken to developing this policy,' he said. 'We have always believed that the best education policies emerge when the profession is involved from the beginning.'