6 Aug 2012

Co-operation with education ministry praised

1:00 pm on 6 August 2012

A kura principal is praising the national body that represents some Maori language immersion schools for working with the Ministry of Education to help set up Nelson's first kura kaupapa Maori.

Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tuia Te Matangi in Richmond was officially blessed during a powhiri ceremony last month, in time to open its doors for the start of the school term.

The school cost around $4 million to build and caters for tamariki from 5 to 12 years of age.

Merita Waitoa-Paki says Te Runanga Nui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori was part of the driving force behind the scenes forging a strong relationship with the Ministry of Education.

She says it was the national kura kaupapa body that established that link with the ministry.

Mrs Waitoa-Paki says it also helped with the school's first Education Review Office report where the school was assessed under Te Aho Matua - which lays down the principles by which kura kaupapa identify themselves as a unique schooling system.

She says if it was not for Te Runanga Nui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori insisting that ERO and the education ministry work together, Tuia Te Matangi might not have become a reality.