11. Māori Language / Te Reo—Learning in Schools Teacher Workforce Capacity DevelopmentMARAMA DAVIDSON (Green) to the Minister of EducationMāori Language / Te Reo—Learning in Schools Teacher Workforce Capacity Development11. MARAMA DAVIDSON (Green) to the Minister of Education: Tū ai a ia i runga i te mana o tana kōrero we have some real issues in terms of the workforce around te reo" ā he mea tērā "looking at" e ia nā ka whakaūngia e Te Minita te tukunga o tētahi mahere e mea ana ka pēhea tā Te Kāwanatanga whakawhanake i te raukaha o te opemahi ki te whakaako i Te Reo Māori ki roto i ngā kura?[Does she stand by her statement that "we have some real issues in terms of the workforce around te reo" and that it was something she would be "looking at"; if so will she commit to releasing a plan on how the Government will develop workforce capacity for teaching Te Reo Māori in schools?]Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister for Children) on behalf of the Minister of Education: Yes. The Minister is looking at the workforce issues around Te Reo Māori teaching and learning and she is open to discussions about continuing to improve access to high-quality Māori language programmes for students. There is a lot of work under way to support the teaching and learning of Te Reo in schools and the number of students learning Te Reo is growing. Overall in 2016 nearly 180000 students were learning Te Reo an increase of just over 30000 students since 2010. We expect this number to grow as more schools come together to form communities of learning and sharing the expertise of their teachers.Marama Davidson: Kei te whakaae ia ko tētehi o ngā ara tino pai kia tutukihia te whakarauoratanga me te mahi whāngahia Te Reo Māori i Aotearoa kia whakaako i Te Reo ki ngā tamariki katoa i roto i ngā kura?[Does she agree that one of the best ways to ensure that the Māori language recovers and the work involved in feeding it to New Zealand grows is by teaching the language to all children in schools?]Hon ANNE TOLLEY: I am sorry but my headpiece was not working.Mr SPEAKER: Can the member then access another headpiece and I will ask for the question to be repeated.Marama Davidson: Kei te whakaae ia ko tētehi o ngā ara tino pai kia tutukihia te whakarauoratanga me te mahi whāngahia Te Reo Māori i Aotearoa kia whakaako i Te Reo ki ngā tamariki katoa i roto i ngā kura?[Does she agree that one of the best ways to ensure that the Māori language recovers and the work involved in feeding it to New Zealand grows is by teaching the language to all children in schools?]Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Yes and the Minister has acknowledged that a second language is of huge value to students.Marama Davidson: Kei te whakaae Te Minita te maha hoki o ngā hua mō te ako i tētahi reo tuarua mō ā tātau tamariki katoa ā he nui ake ngā hua mō te tauira Māori i tana ako i tōna ake Reo me ōna tini tikanga ātaahua ki te whakaae a ia ka tautoko mai ki tā mātau arā ko Te Reo Māori hei kaupapa matua i ngā kura katoa o Aotearoa nei?[Does the Minister agree that there are many benefits for all our children to learn a second language and that it is much more beneficial for Māori students to learn their own language with its innumerable beautiful customs; and if she agrees will she support what we advocate—in other words the Māori language should be the primary agenda for all schools in New Zealand here?]Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Anne Tolley can address either one or both of those supplementary questions.Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The Minister's comments are that yes strong cases have been made for making Te Reo compulsory. In practical terms there are simply not enough teachers of Te Reo as it is and that is why the focus has been on encouraging more Māori to become teachers through initiatives like the Kupe scholarships.Marama Davidson: Kei te whakaaro tonu Te Minita mā te pūtea taratahi noa ki a Teach First NZ e ora ai tō tātau nei Reo Māori ahakoa ēhara kei a rātau te mātauranga ngā pūkenga ki te whakarahi ake i te hunga e mōhio pai ki te whakaako i Te Reo Māori?[Does the Minister really consider that a one-off funding into Teach First NZ will give our Māori language life despite the fact they do not have the knowledge and skills to increase the numbers who really know how to teach the Māori Language?]Hon ANNE TOLLEY: Actually in 2013 this Government committed more than $11 million to Te Reo Māori scholarships and awards. There are currently 350 places. Budget 2017 provided an extra $7.6 million for Māori language curriculum resources in addition to the $2 million that is already spent each year. As I said in my primary answer the number of students learning Te Reo is growing the number of Māori immersion schools is growing and this Government believes that access to that second language is increasingly being taken up by students throughout New Zealand.Marama Davidson: Ka whakaūngia e ia tētahi mahere ki te whakawhanake me pēhea te hanga a Te Kāwanatanga i te raukaha ki roto i ō tātau kura ki te whakaako i Te Reo Māori ki ngā tauira katoa i Aotearoa?[Would she commit to developing a plan for how the Government will build capacity in our schools to teach the Māori language to all our students in New Zealand?]Hon ANNE TOLLEY: The difficulty with committing to a plan is that one of the main difficulties is retention of teachers whom we have trained. So prior to actually putting more resources into training teachers the Minister is carrying out a pilot scheme to try to understand why we are losing trained Te Reo teachers from the system and how we can better support those who have been trained to teach Te Reo as they come into the education system and retain them in the education system so that we can grow the number of Te Reo teachers."