More Work Needed On Maori Education

new-zealand-first-party

Fri Jul 25 2008 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

More Work Needed On Maori Education

Friday, 25 July 2008, 1:38 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party

25 July 2008

Whilst figures released showing an increase in Maori students leaving secondary school with level 2 NCEA or above is encouraging, there is still more work to be done says New Zealand First Maori Affairs spokesperson Pita Paraone.

“Maori still lag behind other ethnic groups in educational achievement. For example, the same report shows that 84 percent of Asian and 56 percent of Pasifika students leaving secondary school in 2007 achieved level 2 NCEA or above, compared to 44 percent for Maori.

“Considering that one in seven New Zealanders is Maori, we are in serious danger of being left behind,” said Mr Paraone.

“Addressing this deficit is important for New Zealand as the size of the Maori population aged under 15 years has continued to grow and the proportion of Maori in this younger age group is still high at 34 percent.

“New Zealand First has always believed that education is the key to upward mobility, so meeting the educational needs of Maori must continue to be a priority for New Zealand.

“We will increasingly be dependent on Maori to provide the working age group for our country over the next thirty or forty years. We need to act now if we are to ensure that a healthy and educated workforce will meet our future needs.

“Time will tell if the ‘Ka Hikitia’ Maori Education Strategy delivers on its promise to lift the educational achievements of Maori students. New Zealand First hopes it will.

“It’s time to end Maori over-representation in the statistics of social failure. The foundation to Maori success lies in education,” said Mr Paraone.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand First Party on InfoPages.