New tool to help iwi support Māori educational pathways

Iwi will now be able to access student information effortlessly thanks to a new tool developed in partnership with iwi education leaders around the country, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis announced today.

Te Mataaho-ā-Iwi, the Iwi Profiles Dashboard, has been launched on the Education Counts website today and provides iwi with updated data about Māori learners, along with learners who affiliate to their iwi, as soon as it becomes available.

“The Dashboard enables iwi leaders to make informed decisions about the education choices for Māori students,” Kelvin Davis said.

“It will help iwi with their planning around te reo Māori, and skills and capability, as well as assist their relationships with schools and Kāhui Ako, tertiary education providers, local government and other iwi,” Kelvin Davis said.

“As it stands, this kind of information is released once a year and while I’m sure it’s helpful, it’s not available when iwi leaders really need it.”

Te Mataaho-ā-Iwi will provide a more timely view of their learners’ educational pathways and achievements, as well as relevant data to questions iwi have.

“We recognise iwi as the kaitiaki of their learners’ education. They are in a unique position to support the education journey of their tamariki and rangatahi - and the Dashboard is an important new tool to help them do that,” Kelvin Davis said.

Notes to editors

• Following the annual release of the iwi profiles earlier this year, the Ministry of Education started talking with more than 30 iwi around the country about the validity of the yearly data drops.
• Te Mataaho-ā-Iwi is a result of those discussions and has been co-designed with iwi who participated in the project.
• This release is the first iteration of the Dashboard with future iterations expected to be rolled out periodically.