Northland schools have publicly committed to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi in their classrooms despite a Government directive canning the obligation.

Education Minister Erica Stanford announced this month a requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi would be removed. Schools would still be obliged to seek equitable outcomes for Māori students.

Stanford said the current legislated requirement meant parents in charge of governance of local schools were expected to “interpret and implement a Treaty obligation that rightfully sits with the Crown”.

“School boards play an important role in raising achievement. But they cannot and should not carry the Crown’s constitutional obligations under the Treaty.”

More than 1000 schools nationwide have vowed to continue to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, at least 28 of which were in Northland.

Among those were Waipu Primary School, Whangārei Intermediate School, Manaia View School, Ruawai College, Ruakākā Primary, Moerewa School, Whangārei Girls’ High School, Kerikeri High School and more.

They also included the School Boards Association, Principals’ Federation and the Post Primary Teachers’ Association.

Doctor of Education and Whangārei Girls’ High School board presiding member Maia Hetaraka said schools would stand up for what they believed in.

“We will do what we believe is right for our communities, and I don’t mean just Māori communities.”

A letter addressed to Stanford stated the Whangārei Girls’ High School board would continue to give effect to Te Tiriti.

“Whangārei Girls’ High School has worked hard for many years to establish relationships with mana i te whenua and tāngata whenua, despite this, we know we have improvements to make. We will not sacrifice any of these relationships.”

Schools previously had to give effect to Te Tiriti by ensuring local curriculum and policy reflected Māori language, history and culture, and take all reasonable steps to make instruction available in tikanga Māori.

Hetaraka told the Northern Advocate there was a “huge body” of evidence to suggest education outcomes were better for students who saw themselves reflected in their learning.

Stanford argued the requirement around Te Tiriti o Waitangi made no difference to raising achievement for tamariki Māori.

Education Minister Erica Stanford announced this month the Government would remove the obligation on school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti. Photo / Mark Mitchell

She said school boards could continue to reflect te ao Māori values and customs in ways that were meaningful to their communities.

“Boards lost focus on their core responsibilities: achievement, attendance, keeping young people safe at school and ensuring they’re learning. Results continued to decline,” Stanford said.

“The Government’s recent Treaty References Review questions whether it was appropriate for school boards to be held accountable for meeting the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty.”

Hetaraka said it shouldn’t be up to politicians to decide how much education people were entitled to.

Dr Maia Hetaraka is concerned at the impact removing Te Tiriti obligations from school boards will have on learners. Photo / NZME

Associate Education Minister David Seymour claimed schools had more freedom than they did before.

He said Whangārei Girls’ High School could embed as much tikanga, reo and matauranga as it liked.

Seymour believed education should equip children to navigate the world on their own terms, not “shoehorn” them into a view of New Zealand by “legislating goals that are political, not academic”.

Hetaraka argued removing Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations was doing just that.

“To be removing any references and obligations to enact Te Tiriti, it’s shoehorning people,” she said.

She felt the amendment took the country backwards.

“We still had some ways to go, but we were as a country finally getting to know ourselves and mature as a nation, and it feels like we’ve gone so far back, and I feel sad for my children,” she said.

Hetaraka worried about the impact the change would have on future generations.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.