More Teachers Needed To Keep Te Reo Māori Alive

As we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand this week, it’s timely to reflect on the worsening shortage of teachers of te reo Māori in our secondary schools and wharekura, says Te Aomihia Taua-Glassie, PPTA Te Wehengarua Māori vice president.

“This year’s theme is ‘Ake ake ake – a forever language’. If we are truly committed to te reo Māori as a forever language, ensuring it thrives for generations to come, we must invest in teachers of te reo Māori.

“Increasing numbers of institutions and organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand value te reo Māori and tikanga Māori and they are employing a lot of our highly skilled and experienced kaiako. Why wouldn’t kaiako move into these roles which often pay better salaries with more manageable workloads?

“The demand for te reo Māori speakers is creating significant gaps in our kura. Our teacher supply surveys find that te reo Māori teacher vacancies are consistently among the highest of all subject area vacancies.

“The shortage of te reo Māori teachers is a crisis that demands immediate attention. We are calling on the government to develop a teaching workforce strategy that ensures sufficient numbers of kaiako fluent in te reo Māori are in trained, recruited and retained in our kura.

"As part of the Government’s responsibility to toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi, it needs to actively nurture te reo Māori. Addressing the shortage of teachers of te reo Māori teachers is essential to fulfilling this obligation and supporting the revitalisation of this official language of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Māori Language Week 2024 runs from 14 – 21 September. This year's theme, Ake Ake Ake – a forever language, represents the resilience, adaptability and endurance of te reo Māori, and reflects the commitment to embracing and learning the language long into the future.

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