The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Crown breached Treaty of Waitangi principles when it failed to sufficiently involve or consider kura kaupapa Māori during an education review and reform process that took place from 2018 to 2022.
In a report released today following an urgent inquiry, the tribunal said the Crown breached the “Treaty principles of partnership and active protection in several instances during the Tomorrow’s Schools review and reform” process.
It included failing to undertake sufficient consultation with Kura Kaupapa Māori (KKM) and Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa (Te Rūnanga Nui); failing to appoint a member “with specific expertise in Kaupapa Māori education” to its taskforce; and insufficient involvement of KKM and Te Rūnanga Nui in key policy development steps.
Te Rūnanga Nui is a national representative organisation that acts on behalf of KKM whānau.
In a statement, the tribunal said the breaches caused “considerable prejudice to the claimants, including that the claimants do not have the powers they should, under the Treaty partnership, to shape policy applicable to Kura Kaupapa Māori Te Aho Matua”.
As well as an apology, the tribunal has recommended establishing a stand-alone Kaupapa Māori education authority; co-design specific policies for KKM; and a relationship “reset” between the Ministry of Education and Te Rūnanga Nui.
The urgent claim
The WAI 1718 claim was filed under urgency in October 2021 by Te Rūnanga Nui co-chair Cathy Dewes. In a 1News interview in 2022, Dewes said for far too long the Ministry of Education had dictated the decisions behind Te Rūnanga Nui.
“Insisting on doing things their way as opposed to doing it our way, which we know to be the right way for our people.”
In 2023, Te Rūnanga Nui co-chair Rawiri Wright was heard by the tribunal at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae, where he highlighted the importance of Te Rūnanga Nui maintaining its autonomy.
“Ka kore ēnei āhuatanga e ngaro ki ngā āpiha o te tari mātauranga. Ehara i a rātou tērā mana (Our decisions should not be left to officers within the education department. They do not have the authority),” Wright said.
