A kura kaupapa Māori in Wellington is set to get a long-awaited upgrade to its buildings after decades of operating from dilapidated and rundown classrooms.
Education Minister Erica Stanford made the announcement at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna in Seatoun.
“When [their teachers] said there would be a library, and a multipurpose space – so a gym and it can be used for other purposes as well – the excitement on their faces was just, it was so worth it,” she said, “and they deserve it.”
Construction on the new build is expected to start before the end of the year and be completed within in two years.
Tumuaki (principal) Rawiri Wright, who is also co-chairperson of the national body for kura kaupapa Māori, Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, said today’s announcement for Ngā Mokopuna is “hugely significant”.
“We’ve been waiting 31 years to be built. We’ve been on this current site for over 20 years and we’re operating out of dilapidated, leaky, cold buildings, so it’s absolutely huge for us as Ngā Mokopuna.”
But he said that while they were delighted, it was a bittersweet moment.
“It’s not just about us,” he said. He pointed to another 40 kura kaupapa Māori also in dilapidated buildings which also “need some sort of assurance that their needs are going to be addressed sooner rather than later”.
The minister acknowledged the backlog of kura improvements and said the Government had ring-fenced $100 million last year and was now putting in a further $60 million which would build “another 50 classrooms”.
Stanford said kura kaupapa Māori have for many years been an “afterthought” and end up in school buildings abandoned by mainstream institutions. Despite this, they have done “the very best that they can” and have produced excellent results.
“That’s why we’ve ring-fenced that $100 million in property. We will continue to do that every year, we will pump that money into kura kaupapa property, but importantly, and this hasn’t been done before, we are now including kura kaupapa in our network planning.”
The national body for kura kaupapa Māori, Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, said they were disappointed at the Government’s Budget announcement last week, saying it ignores the longstanding underfunding of kura kaupapa Māori.
They called for an investment plan of $1.25 billion over five years dedicated to property development.
The minister said she responded to Te Rūnanga Nui’s concerns, telling them that she wished there was more money but “we were living in a constrained environment”.
