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Associate Minister of Education, Dr Pita Sharples has today launched a new education initiative to support and strengthen the teaching of Māori history in Years 1-13 in schools and kura.

Dr Sharples says “Māori history is New Zealand history. These resources enable teachers and schools to place our stories, our heroes, Māori identity, language and culture at the centre of learning.”

More communities will benefit from an acclaimed school literacy programme, Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Dr Pita Sharples say.  

An extra $2.4 million of operating funding over the next four years will go to the Reading Together Programme so it can expand to include more than 140 decile 4 and 5 schools.

Reading Together is a research-based programme that helps parents to support their children's reading at home.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples have acknowledged the leadership of King Tuheitia and welcomed this weekend’s hui to discuss governance of the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.

Education Ministers Hekia Parata and Dr Pita Sharples have referred matters relating to Te Pataka Ohanga, a private company owned by the Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Board, to the Serious Fraud Office.

Ms Parata and Dr Sharples commissioned Ernst and Young to review the public funding provided to the Trust and establish that there were proper financial controls around the funding for 460 kōhanga centres and the 9,000 children enrolled in them.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Minister of Education, Dr Pita Sharples have released the independent review of Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, which shows the Trust’s financial controls are effective.

“The Trust receives around $92 million per annum in public funding. It was important, given allegations about inappropriate credit card use at the Trust’s private company Te Pataka Ohanga, to establish that there were proper financial controls around the public funding provided for kōhanga reo,” Ms Parata says. 

Associate Education Minister Hon Dr Pita Sharples today announced the establishment of a new Year 1-13 designated character school for Christchurch. The school, to be known as Te Pā o Rākaihautū, will have a designated character that offers a place-based curriculum for the 21st century founded on tikanga and Te Reo Māori, Te Ao Māori values, culture and history.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister Hon Dr Pita Sharples confirmed today that the Independent Review of Public Funding to Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board is underway.

“A lot of work has been completed to establish this independent review, with Ernst & Young commissioned to carry it out. I am pleased that this has moved forward with urgency,” says Ms Parata.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Minister Dr Hon Pita Sharples have met with representatives of the Kōhanga Reo National Trust Board tonight to discuss the allegations made against them.

“While we were encouraged by the actions that the Trust has taken so far, which they have advised us of tonight, we have informed the Trust that the Ministry of Education will be commissioning an independent, specialist audit firm to review the controls the Trust has in place to assure itself that public funding is being used appropriately.

The Ngārimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board has announced two new education initiatives as part of this year’s 70th anniversary celebrations of one of New Zealand’s greatest war heroes.

In recognition of the awarding of the Victoria Cross to Second Lieutenant Te Moana Nui a Kiwa Ngārimu, the Board will invest $250,000 into resourcing histories of each of the Māori Battalion's four rifle companies and related initiatives.

Tēnā koutou katoa, ānei rā te mihi ki a koutou katoa e kaha nei ki te hāpai, ki te tautoko i ngā whānau, ngā hapū me ngā marae maha puta noa i o tātou motu whānui nei o Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu.

Otirā me te mihi anō ki a koutou e kaha nei ki te poipoi i a tātou tamariki mokopuna, ka riro hoki ma rātou e hoe te waka apōpō. E tika tonu kia mihi ki o tātou mate e hingahinga tonu nei puta noa i te motu. E kore hoki e taea te karo te taonga nei a te mate. Ka maumahara tonu ki a rātou o ngā hoia i mate i te pakanga tuarua.

Hon. Dr. Pita Sharples, Associate Minister of Education, has today announced the establishment of Puawaitanga scholarships for students enrolling in a Tutahi Maori Boarding School. These scholarships will be awarded to young people who demonstrate leadership potential, to help them to attend either Hato Paora College, Hato Petera College, Hukarere Girls College, St Joseph’s Maori Girls College, Te Aute College or Turakina Maori Girls College.

Associate Education Minister Dr Pita Sharples has renewed his call for New Zealand history to be taught in all schools, saying a knowledge of history is essential to effective and inclusive education.

In a speech to the Teacher Education Forum of Aotearoa New Zealand in Palmerston North, Dr Sharples suggested that Māori children were not achieving well in education because teachers, along with other New Zealanders, are not familiar with the history and traditions that make Māori students who they are today.

Associate Education Minister Dr Pita Sharples welcomes the belated interest of the Labour Party in the Government’s decision to increase funding to reading programmes in primary schools.

“Labour’s leader may not realise that the 2011 Budget allocated $6.5 million to expand family-based literacy programmes to all decile one, two and three schools, building on the Reading Together programme.

Kaupapa Māori education has been part of the renaissance that has helped rebuild Māori people and culture in recent decades, according to the Associate Minister of Education, Dr Pita Sharples.

In a hard-hitting speech to the World Indigenous Lawyers’ Conference at Waikato University this afternoon, Dr Sharples said the destructive forces of colonisation were turned around in the 1970s and since.

Māori education remains a Government priority, despite the challenging economic climate, Māori Affairs and Associate Education Minister Pita Sharples says.

“Several initiatives in this year’s Budget will help improve education outcomes for Māori,” Dr Sharples says. “The Government’s investment of $76.4 million over the next four years will help our tamariki and mokopuna achieve education success.

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Minister Pita Sharples have announced the establishment of an expert reference group on the Māori-medium teaching workforce.

The reference group will advise the Government on how to increase the number of high-quality, te reo-fluent teachers in Māori-medium education.

The ten strong group, who will meet for the first time today, is made of up principals, academics and business leaders.

Associate Education Minister and Maori Party Co-leader Dr Pita Sharples says the ten-year anniversary of the Enviroschools Foundation is a milestone that’s really worth celebrating.

Speaking at a function in Hamilton this evening [6.30pm Wednesday 18 January 2012] Dr Sharples congratulated the Foundation, and all its support partners, for carrying on their work.