Media release 3 May: Te Te Mana Ākonga, the National Māori Tertiary Students’ Association

Poroporoaki ki a Parekura Horomia

Māori Students Mourn Passing of Parekura Tureia Horomia

Ka tanuku te tihi o Titirangi, ka pōkare ngā wai o Ūawa, huri noa ki te Whare Tipuna o Ruakapanga me te hau kainga o Te Aitanga a Hauiti. Ka rangona te tangi a te tairāwhiti mōhou e te matua, Parekura. Nei mātou o Te Mana Ākonga e noho pōuri ana i te taenga mai o tō karanga tūpāpaku. Nāu i hāpai ngā tauira Māori o ngā whare wānanga me ngā kuratini o te motu kia tutuki pai ai i roto i te ao mātauranga. Haere, haere, haere atu rā ki te wāhi o ōu tīpuna o te Tairāwhiti e. Takoto mai e Pa.

Te Mana Ākonga, the National Māori Tertiary Students’ Association is grieving the passing of the Hon. Parekura Horomia.

“Te Mana Ākonga grieves with the rest of the nation following the passing of Parekura Horomia. Our love and thoughts are with the whanau at this very sad time as they mourn the loss of a father, grandfather, uncle, nephew and whanaunga”, says Ivy Harper, Tumuaki of Te Mana Ākonga.

“Parekura Horomia was a diligent, tireless leader and pioneer for Māori development and as we have heard over the past few days, an advocate for te reo Māori, education and employment opportunities for Māori. He was one of today’s great leaders like his tipuna Tā Apirana Ngata”, declares Harper.

“Education was one of Parekura’s flagships and we know he was a stalwart supporter of tauira Māori. He fought against Voluntary Student Membership and was instrumental in the pilot Special Supplementary Grant (SSG) which sought to improve equity of access, retention and achievement for Māori, Pasifika and students with disabilities in tertiary education. This continues today and is now called Equity Funding”, says Harper.

Te Mana Ākonga would also like to acknowledge the work Parekura did behind the scenes in the fight for interest-free student loans.

“While a small few may argue that interest should be charged on student loans, Parekura could see that many of our tauira came from poor communities. He noted that real benefits could be gained earlier if students were able to focus on their studies without worrying about how to repay their loans before they completed studying. Today all students receive the benefit of interest-free loans”, says Harper.

“Accounts from individuals noted that many tauira Māori were recipients of Parekura’s personal generosity. Tauira Māori acknowledge deep respect for this special, caring man, who connected with generations of tauira in so many ways. He was a kanohi kitea at the many campuses”, says Harper.

There will be representation from Te Mana Ākonga at Parekura Horomia’s tangi on Saturday on behalf of tauira Māori.

ENDS

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