Te Tira Hou 2024

An overview of the network of kaupapa Māori and Māori medium education and the number of ākonga Māori learning in Level 1 te reo Māori education, across the country.

In 2021, the Schooling Network Team in National Office worked with a range of regional and national office staff to develop the first Te Tira Hou document. In 2024, we have updated Te Tira Hou. This version includes more information about early learning (kōhanga reo, puna reo and puna kōhungahunga), updated roll data (July 2023), information about gaps in education pathways, and opportunities to grow and strengthen the Kaupapa Māori and Māori medium networks.

Level 1 are immersion education settings where ākonga learn in te reo Māori for 81-100% of the time, or where the curriculum is taught in Māori for between 20-25 hours a week. These settings include Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura-ā-Iwi, state schools that teach in te reo Māori, and rumaki units in English medium schools, where some students at the school learn in te reo Māori.

We have evidence that ākonga Māori students have higher achievement when in Level 1 kura than they do in English medium education. With this in mind, we have much work to do to support our education partners and grow Kaupapa Māori and Māori medium education. Our aim is for Te Tira Hou 2024 to support discussions about growing this provision.

We have used the terms Kaupapa Māori and Māori medium education in this version of Te Tira Hou. Kaupapa Māori is education under the organisations included in Te Matakahuki (Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa (TRN), Ngā Kura-ā-iwi o Aotearoa (NKAI) and Te Tauihu o Ngā Wānanga, the collective of the 3 statutorily recognised wānanga). Māori medium education includes puna reo, kura that are not affiliated to TRN or NKAI, and rumaki units. Note that there are multiple understandings of the term ‘kaupapa Māori education’, and we consider all of these to be correct when self-defined by Māori.

What Te Tira Hou is telling us

• In 2023, there were 14,843 ākonga enrolled at or licensed places at 488 Kaupapa Māori and Māori medium early learning providers. There were 18,023 school aged tamariki enrolled in Level 1 education across the country.
• The number of school aged ākonga Māori in Level 1 education has increased since 2021. In 2023, there were 203,247 school aged ākonga Māori across the country. Of these, 18,023 (9%) were learning in Level 1 education. In 2021, 16,750 ākonga were learning in Level 1 (which was 8.4% of the total ākonga Māori at that time).
• While there are parts of the country that have full early learning – Year 13 pathways in Level 1, there are large parts of the country with partial pathways. In some parts, there is a kōhanga reo, but no Level 1 schooling provision. Other catchments in the country have Level 1 education available to Year 8, with no secondary provision. And some catchments have no Level 1 education at all.

More information

Email education.network@education.govt.nz if you have any pātai or comments.