Waitangi Tribunal confirms schools were successfully giving effect to Te Tiriti

The Tribunal found: 'School boards were successfully working to incorporate te reo Māori, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori to improve educational outcomes of ākonga Māori.'

It also found the statutory obligation meant Te Tiriti was 'front of mind for school boards when making decisions and setting priorities'.

Te Aomihia Taua-Glassie, PPTA Te Wehengarua Māori vice president, says the findings are both affirming and deeply painful.

“Across Aotearoa, schools were breathing life into Te Tiriti. They were weaving te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori through the life of their schools and holding the aspirations of ākonga Māori close in the decisions they made.

“They were doing what we should hope for from our public education system. And when the statutory obligation was taken away, more than 1,800 schools stood together and said they would continue to honour it.”

The Tribunal strongly criticised both the decision and the way it was made, finding the Crown’s rationale was 'flimsy at best' and 'little short of a pretext'.

It said: 'The Crown removed the express Tiriti obligation on school boards opportunistically, when the change could be ushered through Parliament without public scrutiny. This was clearly deliberate.'

Te Aomihia Taua-Glassie says the finding goes to the heart of why educators feel so betrayed.

“Te Tiriti is a relationship. It asks something of all of us, but particularly of the Crown as a Treaty partner.

“For educators who have worked with care and commitment to honour that relationship, there is a profound sense of betrayal in learning that something so important was deliberately taken away without even talking to Māori or the education sector.”

The Tribunal found breaches of partnership, good government, active protection and equity. It has recommended the Crown formally apologise to Māori and restore section 127(1)(d) in its entirety.

“Schools have already shown where they stand. Now the Crown has an opportunity to listen, to repair the harm that has been done, and to restore an obligation that was not failing our schools but helping them become places where Te Tiriti could be lived.”

PPTA Te Wehengarua was an interested party and gave evidence in the Tribunal proceedings.